The price to attend a four-year university has drastically increased over the past few years. Between 2001 and 2010 the cost of a university education soared from 23% of median annual earnings to 38%; in consequence, debt per student has doubled in the past 15 years. Two-thirds of graduates now take out loans. Those who earned bachelor’s degrees in 2011 graduated with an average of $26,000 in debt. Many students apply for financial aid, academic or athletic scholarships to lighten the load of tuition. Star athletes at Big 10 and Big 12 schools have been able to attend college with every expense paid for. Some people think that these athletes are not being compensated enough for their efforts, and should be getting paid a salary on top of their free education. Others think that the education they are getting is priceless, and that these student athletes should not be so greedy. With the college football's season and college basketball’s March Madness just ending, collegiate sports are making more money than ever. This draws the question: should college athletes be paid? There are many factors to look at before answering, such as how much of a profit is actually being created, how it would affect the student athlete’s education, and what consequences could paying the students have on the wholesomeness of college sports.
Specifically focusing on the monetary numbers of college basketball and football, it is safe to say that these two sports have brought in a hefty profit. ESPN bought the four-team College Football Playoffs for $7.3 billion for 12 years. Usually, college football tries to stay away from playoffs because it would take away from the popularity of the regular season. However, the two bowl games in the first round of playoffs were the two highest rated shows when they aired on New Year’s Day. This ultimately led ESPN to charge $1 million for a 30-second ad. Not to mention, the coaches for Ohio State and Oregon (the two teams who played for the College Football Championship) got bonuses that added up to over $1 million since their teams made it to the playoffs. These bonuses are additional to their already substantial multi-million dollar salaries.
It is important to keep in mind why millions of young adults have decided to go to college. They want an education so they can live a comfortable life after graduation. However, some athletes only go to college for their sport. They look at college as a stepping stone before going to play in the professional league. Unfortunately, it is rare for a college athlete to go on and become successful in the NFL or NBA, so it is important to have a degree to fall back on. Cardale Jones is a perfect example of what people hate about how popular college sports have become. Jones was the winning quarterback for Ohio State in the most recent College Football Championship against Oregon, however, only a few years ago he was a third string player for a 12th ranked Ohio State team. That did not stop him from sending out a tweet that said “Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain’t come to play SCHOOL classes are POINTLESS.” This tweet was from 2012 and quickly deleted after being posted. It was not deleted fast enough, and caused controversy among not just the college football business, but also among students and parents as well. Millions of dollars go into new uniforms, equipment, and athletic scholarships so these kids can be student athletes with the student part obviously coming before the athlete responsibility. The increasing popularity of college sports cause the players to be away from their studies more and more. Athletic scholarships are great for Division I schools because it allows many teens to be able to afford to go to college. However, people are questioning if they are being pulled away from their education in order to be sports stars, and if that is the case then when does it become too much?
One of the reasons college sports have become so popular is because it is not completely dominated by money. The NFL, MLB, and NBA have teams run by millionaires and billionaires who will do whatever it takes to buy the best players. Many players will leave teams or opt out of contracts in order to get paid more. Typically, the team with the most money is the one with the best record. The NCAA believes that student athletes should be an integral part of the student body. Athletic programs should be designed to promote academic progress, graduation and be consistent with the student body in general. The wholesomeness of college sports is that they are still students, and chose their school based on other aspects than just money. Adding a salary could take away the last thing that kept these student-athletes somewhat a part of the normal student body.
ESPN gives the conferences and schools an additional $320 million per year. The Associated Press divvied up this amount among the 11,000 scholarship football players at the 129 schools. Their calculations came out to more than $29,000 that could be given to each player. Some may say that they would rather the players, who risk their body for entertainment, get the money instead of the coaches or men in ties behind the scenes. Others might argue that the money should go directly to the school and be an investment in education. An athlete does not have the time to get a job like other students. Their free time is spent practicing, playing games and studying with tutors. Time will only tell what will happen to the future of college sports.
