Why Do Student Athletes Get Paid

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Over the years, since the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) began functioning, college student athletes have gained a status almost synonymous with today’s celebrities. They are essentially seen as stars and have the weight of the university and the entire fan base on their shoulders. With this pressure they are faced with, many spectators forget the origin and definition of the term “student athlete”. They see the “student athlete” as someone who is a fulltime athlete who just goes to class part-time. The fact still remains that they are students first but that aspect is ultimately overshadowed by the time they put into their respective sports. The NCAA is ultimately an $800 billion industry (pulled from the NCAA website) that…show more content…
Through the sales of jerseys, t-shirts, athlete’s images and likeness, and other things tied into the players, the universities and the NCAA generate revenue because of the student athletes. In an article on Business Insider titled “Here's How Much Big-Time College Athletes Should Be Getting Paid” by Tony Manfred he stated that “In the NBA, players receive 50% of all revenue, and in the NFL players receive 46.5% of all revenue”, so it would only be ethical that these college student athletes receive a portion of the revenue being made because of them. In a study by Drexel University Sports Management Department in collaboration with the NCPA (National College Players Association) entitled “The $6 Billion Heist: Robbing College Athletes Under the Guise of Amateurism”, it was determined that college athletes on full scholarship do not receive a “free ride.” For the 2011-2012 academic year, the average annual scholarship shortfall (out of pocket expenses) for each Football Bowl Series (FBS) “full” scholarship athlete was $3,285. So even though they have a “full scholarship”, they still are pulling money out of their pocket. This is…show more content…
Some find this to be true but upon research you notice that sometimes these “full” scholarships don’t even cover everything promised and what people tend to not realize is that those scholarships are not always a four-year educational guarantee. That scholarship can be took from the student athletes as quick as it was given to them. This is also another key reason why they deserve some form of compensation. Usually that is some peoples only argument against why those student athletes should not be paid, but when it comes to the universities they take a complete different approach. Instead they say that paying the student athletes would undermine the universities primary role of only offering education to students. Some would say that the connection to the university’s values would be lost, but when you bring these athletes in from less than exceptional backgrounds, take them away from their families, and leave them poor, you should feel as though they deserve some sense of entitlement for their hardships. Everything that has value must also have a price attached with it so why should the situation be any different when these college students are involved; college student athletes are
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