Students who play for colleges are supposed to provide the best at the level they play, but the questions that begs answers is why despite providing the best, they are not paid for it. According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA, the reason why these students do not receive payment is to ensure that they are protected from being exploited by professional and other commercial entities (Armstrong & Nick 112). The argument is that the college students are amateurs and shouldn’t be influenced by monetary incentives as is the case with professional players. However, this argument does not hold any water because these athletes are required to work at their sports just the way professionals do. To many students, the sports are like their work since they are willing to put in all the necessary efforts to produce the best.
The NCAA argues that colleges do not generate any revenues from sports. However, this is not true. The NCAA makes deals with television networks to broadcast the games. The same happens with the colleges. Above all, college sports are not taxed for the entertainment they provide and this means that all the money generated goes to the colleges. The colleges profit from these events as a result of the money collected from spectators and sponsors. Furthermore, college athletes need to be paid because the scholarships they get are only enough to provide the basic necessities like tuition, housing and books. For many of these athletes, this is rarely enough. Many of these athletes don’t have any extra money to do other personal stuff like going out for the weekend. Besides, many students who are on athletic scholarships could not be in college were it not for the scholarships because they come from poor backgrounds and the scholarship is the only means of survival (Watkins 2). Coupled with very little free time, these students cannot engage in any other hobbies or fun activities. But if they were given some of payment, the athletes could afford to access other necessities in life which the scholarship does not cover. Since they don’t have time to look for jobs and are being paid for their efforts, their life will just revolve around school work and training and many would need heavy support from their colleagues to survive (Split 11). These athletes cannot apply for any jobs since most jobs are done during the weekends and it is this time when the athletes are busy with training and tournaments.
There are many ways through which students can benefit from the revenues they generate as a result of engaging in sports. For example, colleges should consider students as college workers and pay them at an hourly rate according to each game they play for the college. Although this may seem to be little, at least it would be an appreciation of their efforts since they would be getting a pie of what they produce. Just like any other student, college students are also human beings and by not giving them any opportunity to make money, the NCAA and its members are expecting their members to live a life that is sub-human and also making it difficult for the students to comfortably finish their studies. Thus, the current system is not putting the needs of students into consideration with their policies.
In conclusion therefore, universities and other organizations get lot money as result of students participating in sports and it is just fair that the students who ensure that this happens also benefit from their efforts. Athlete students should be well taken care off for the services they provide to these universities. The salaries need not run into millions of dollars but it is sensible that they get something respectable for the efforts they put in making sports popular.
