Should College Athletes Be Paid

Word Count 1.330

Paying College Athletes: A Game Changer

College athletes devote all their time and effort to playing their favorite sport and to promoting the reputation of their school, but do they get paid for it… NO! The NCAA opposed paying college athletes for many different reasons, including a lack of funds in the organization and the belief that paying athletes will lead to laziness and decreased academic achievement. This is unfair and unfounded; college athletes should be paid for their athletic and academic efforts.

College athletes work hard to make sure they are performing to their best ability and to complete their school work. According to Isaiah Thomas, he was able to understand the difficulties college athletes with scholarships face by reviewing their academic performances. “You need your education to even be considered for a scholarship”(Thomas). The NCAA believes that athletes, might become lazy and put less work into classes if they are being paid. This is illogical since student athletes need to maintain certain academic standards to receive a scholarship, once these standard are met they need to maintain them. Sports scholarships do not cover the supplemental costs of attending college. Thomas explained how his mother always pushed him to focus on school and work hard. As he went on in his career, Thomas has always expressed the importance of education. “...As a graduate student in education and sport I am actually aware of the importance of academics in the lives of athletes” (Thomas).

College athletes, like all students, have to take out loans for their tuition, books, dorms, and all expenses that their scholarships do not cover. One difference between a regular college student and a college athlete is the amount of time they have available.They each have classes to attend, assignments to do, and basic life needs to address. On top of this, athletes must attend practices and games. Sometimes practices can last over two hours, and games over three hours. Yet, athletes still have to complete their assignments, stay healthy, and get enough sleep. Non-athletes are able to complete everything they need to and still have time before bed to get a job and earn money on the side.“The practice of setting a binding limit on remuneration for student athletes-grant-in-aid restricted room, board, tuition, fees, and books may violate the Sherman Antitrust Act(...)” (Huang).Sport scholarships only become available when you maintain high grades and keep your athletic ability to the highest standard. College athletes care about their education and want to do a good job not only to keep their scholarships, but to be able to build a career, if they do not get a chance to grow their sport career.

Most people may not think that college athletes are “mature” enough to know why they are not being paid, but that is not the case. College athletes are regular people,they are passionate about playing a sport, they know why they are not being paid, but they still continue to play their sport and create a good name for not only themselves but for the school they attend. When a scholarship is given the school takes care of partial fees, including tuition, meal plans, and boarding, an athlete is then given the opportunity to earn their degree, play their favorite sport, and be able to engage in a college life. “All athletes know what they sign up for when they apply to college to continue playing their sport while they’re in college” (Johnson and Acquaviva). The athletes that apply to keep playing their sport in college are not fully covered, they are willing to make any sacrifice to be able to keep playing even if it means long nights doing homework or long practices every morning before their first class.It is not fair that these athletes to put all their effort into doing their best in their sport and keeping their grades above standard, without any type of payment to be able to cover anything else they may have to pay for or what their scholarship did not cover.

When it comes to paying college athletes it is a great idea, but all the numbers that have to be taken into consideration might not add up. Many sources that may state the economic standpoint, that paying college athletes is a bad idea. Most of these sources always go back to the statement that the athletes are already getting a scholarship. “With all the money you get from scholarships to cover college expenses it wouldn’t be fair to be earning more money after some of your expenses are already covered” (Thelin). By saying a scholarship covers “most” expenses is not fair since