The controversy surrounding the payment of college students is one that will continue as long as college students engage in rigorous training and generate millions of dollars for colleges and universities, but do not earn financial rewards for their services. Arguably, college athletes work just as hard as professional athletes and yet they only receive scholarships to prestigious higher educational institutions. On the other hand, professional athletes generate just about the same amount or revenue for their team and receive exorbitant fees for their services. While college football is not as lucrative as professional sports, college athletes work hard to bring great rewards to educational institutions and therefore they be receive financial compensation for the work that they do.
According to Ekow N. Yankah highlights the recent controversy surround college sports as he points out that “the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling in the antitrust suit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association” (Yankah, 2015). The author continues by highlighting the fact that upheld the rights of the players as the Courts affirmed that the National Collegiate Athletic Association is not above the law and should compensate athletes for the jobs that their role in colleges sports. Of course, one may argue that paying college athletes would detract from the true meaning f patriotism for the college. If that were the cases, then no one should benefit from the work that the athletes do. But, coaches, managers and administrators in the sport earn hundreds of thousands of dollars and even millions of dollars annually from the sport.
Interestingly, the college athletes currently get scholarships as payment. But, these athletes can never become injured during their college years as the scholarships end with any long term illnesses. Payments for medical treatment fall on the parents of these athletes as there is no financial assistance from the colleges. Yet, a number of college coaches rank among the highest-paid public employees as they earn nearly five-million-dollar salaries (Yankah, 2015) which is different from the gifts and benefits that they receive. College players cannot afford this lifestyle and yet they do most of the work.
Mitchell and Elderman argue that college athletes are not professionals and therefore they should not be paid for their contribution to the sport (Mitchell & Elderman, 2013). Based on this view, one would have to question what factors make an athlete truly professional. The reality is that college athletes go through similar and extensive training as the “professional” and the only difference is that the college athletes are enrolled in educational institutions. The hypocrisy in these arguments of college athletes not being professionals is that the professional leagues often draft these players even before they are finished with colleges.
Sean Gregory offers his insight into the television broadcasting organizations help to instill the idea that these athletes should be paid as these broadcasting organizations benefits greatly from the college sports that are shown on their networks (Gregory, 2013). The harsh reality is that the athletes are the only ones who are not getting great rewards for the services that they offer. In fact, Gregory shows the way the football organizations take strict actions against players such as Johnny Manziel who received compensation for signing autographs (Gregory, 2013).
In concluding, there is nothing wrong with college athletes being paid for their role in the industry. Of course no one would expect that they will receive similar salaries as the professional players, by the ethical considerations of the society should hold the NCAA accountable for everyone else receiving financial rewards and the college athletes being given nothing in return. The college players are worthy of being drafted as professional players and yet, one would argue that they are not qualified as professional to earn monetary reward while they play for their colleges.
Works Cited
Gregory, S., (2013) Should This Kid Be Making $225,047 A Year for Playing College Football?,
Time International (Atlantic Edition);9/16/2013, Vol. 182 Issue 12, p36 Retrieved from http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/90131764/should-this-kid-be-making-225-047-year-playing-college-football 25 Mar 2016
Mitchell, H., & Elderman, M. (2013) Should College Student-Athletes Be Paid?U.S. News
Digital Weekly;12/27/2013, Vol. 5 Issue 52, p17 Retrieved from http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/opinions/93386222/should-college-student-athletes-be-paid 25 Mar 2016
Yankah, E., (2015) Why N.C.A.A. Athletes Shouldn’t Be Paid, The New Yorker, Retrieved from
http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/why-ncaa-athletes-shouldnt-be-paid 25 Mar 2016
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