Throughout the years, college sports have added another level of excitement to the sports world. Whether it is through the new college football playoffs, March Madness or the "#roadtoomaha" for the baseball playoffs, it gives sport fanatics another opportunity to enjoy their favorite sport even more. They buy jerseys with their favorite athlete's number on the back, get season tickets and even travel to the away games. The games that are missed are recorded on their DVR to experience at a later date, but with all that what does the athlete receive?
Many argue that they get free tuition - is that not enough? I completely understand where that is coming from, as someone who goes to an institution that is right around $200,000 at graduation, but do the athletes need to be paid on top of receiving a stellar education for free? This scholarship covers the cost of the academics, but these students are "student athletes." So what are the benefits for the athlete portion of their title?
Every year universities gross billions of dollars off of sporting events and merchandise sales. However the athletes do not reap the benefits of that money directly. Yes they are able to travel in style, have new gear and nice facilities but is that comparable to how hard they work? Many do not see it as work but they are the ones that are providing the entertainment - and their abilities are fueling the sales that the institutions are reaping.
Being an athlete is tough, but it does have many perks but the hours and long and the pay is nonexistent. The athletes come to school in the summer to begin their workouts and to take summer classes. This is great because they are able to get a jump on some classes that will allow more room in their schedules during the regular year as they balance both school and a full-time workout load. However, this removes them from their families and friends during those months. In this time they are working out, gaining strength and skill and bonding with their team. But during their down time what are they doing?
Each athlete comes from a unique family situation, where they may or may not be receiving money from family members, so being able to buy essentials like clothes or even food become hard. In April of 2014 the NCAA removed the food stipulations after a star UCONN athlete confessed that him and his teammates have "hungry nights". This really shows how these athletes deserve to be paid as they are unable to buy food.
Now with all this said I do believe that athletes deserve and need to be paid. However, what the exact price is, I have no idea. Where would we start? Would it be only for the top sports such as football? Or would it be straight across the board for all athletes? Lastly, how would you determine which sport was paid what amount? Does every athlete get the same stipend even if their sport does not bring in a lot of money? That is a lot for the institutions and NCAA to consider, but it needs to be done.
Lets pay our athletes for their hard work!
