We hear it discussed far too often in a world where college sports dominate the media and generate billions of dollars: Should college athletes be paid? Are scholarships enough to reward the talent, the risk of injury and hours spent training? Before you make a firm decision in either direction, here are four pros and four cons to consider:
PROS
It's Big Business: The multi-billion-dollar industry of college athletics is filled with sponsorships, video games, advertisements, memorabilia and ticket sales. Without college athletes, none of the above would exist. The players would be rewarded with a small portion of the business they create. This is specifically important regarding apparel, where sales are 100 percent dependent on a specific individual's name, popularity and performance.
Promotes Health: In order to play on a college level, student-athletes must eat healthy and work out often. Whether it is inside of practice, or grabbing extra hours at the gym. By instituting a salary structure, students are being paid on some level to keep a healthy lifestyle.
Competition:The competitive nature of college sports would become greater with the implementation of a salary as players would be paid on the basis of performance and worth of skills. Take professional sports as an example. Each year professional athletes are faster, bigger, taller and more muscular as they compete for jobs across a league. A salary tier would motivate athletes to put in extra effort to preserve or improve their current rank, resulting in more intense games.
Provides Income: The average college athlete spends close to 43 hours a week within their sport: creating a full-time job. Additionally, Between the demands of college coursework, practices and additional team activities college athletes typically do not have time for a separate job. There is no doubt that talent and skill create each individual an athletic "resume" of sorts and players work over 40 hours a week, so why not make their sport their job?
CONS
Taxes: By receiving a salary, athletes would become eligible for state and federal income taxes. For example, let's say a player at the University of Alabama receives a football salary of $100,000 per year. With the deduction of federal and Alabama state taxes, the player would receive a net income of approximately $70,000.
College Costs: If an athlete received a salary rather than a scholarship, the student would be responsible for paying out of pocket for an education. Depending on the school, it could cost upwards of $60,000 per year. In addition, if a student is declaring a salary of nearly $100,000 per year, the chance of receiving any financial aid is slim to none.
Priority of Education: There are two types of college athletes. The one who acquires a scholarship primarily to fund their education, and the one who accepts the scholarship solely for the love of playing a sport. The priority of an education for the second type is typically low, but in most cases, students must maintain decent grades to keep a scholarship. If salaries were implemented there would be little incentive to attend class, study and ultimately work toward a degree.
Salary Structure:There is no doubt that Division I schools bring in more money than Division III schools, and popular sports such as football bring in more than say, women's lacrosse. It is unclear how a salary structure could be set up regarding this point, without creating a socialistic atmosphere. Should athletes receive a rational portion of the earnings their specific sport and university produce?
Once I carefully reviewed each of the above points I reached a denouement. All in all, I stand firm on my opinion that college athletes should be paid primarily in scholarship money but receive a small salary relative to the specific sport's net income. College sports are big business, and students should reap the benefits for all the hard work and talent they bring to the table. Students are given scholarships as an incentive to attend a university and obtain a higher education, but is that enough for the time, effort and talent required?
What do you think? Should college athletes be paid by salary or scholarship? Share your comments below.
