Sean Myers
Mrs. Salerno
Period ⅚
College Athletes Essay
The argument made by Ann Kaufmann in College Athletes Should Be Paid is that college
athletes, specifically football and basketball players, should be compensated for their play. More
specifically, Kaufmann argues that since basketball and football bring in the most money by a
very noticeable margin, the athlete's for these sports are the only collegiate athletes that should
be paid. Kaufmann also mentions the amount that the coaches and schools make, while the
players who are the ones actually providing the entertainment, get nothing. Kaufmann also
mentions the publicity that players bring to universities and television programs; the publicity
that comes with the players produces money, however the players are not rewarded with any of
it. Kaufmann writes “Because college football and men’s basketball are so amazingly profitable,
head football coaches at public universities earn on average more than $2 million a year. And top
college basketball coaches routinely earn $4 million a year. Salaries for assistant coaches now
commonly exceed $200,000 with some earning as much as $700,000.” In this passage,
Kaufmann suggests that there could be a 5-point plan put into place that favors the payment of
college athletes, the plan was formed by a man named Joe Nocera. The first point in the plan
would be offering athletes real contracts, as if they were professional. Secondly, each team
would have a salary cap; doing this would keep the wealthier schools from being able to
overpower less wealthy schools by being able to provide more money to the top recruits. The
third point in the plan, is if any player are to stay all four years in college they would get an
additional two-year scholarship, in order to get a bachelor or master’s degree; but it would also
allow them to take less courses while they’re still athletically eligible through their first four
years. The fourth point in the plan is that each player would be covered with a lifetime of health
insurance, due to the colleges not being responsible for athletes injuries now, this would give the
colleges responsibility for the players health and injuries. The fifth and last point in the plan
would be an organization such as a players union; this organization would be formed to represent
current and former college athletes, with a purpose of managing all other parts of the plan such
as the salary cap and health insurance. In conclusion, Kaufmann’s belief is that college football
and basketball players should be compensated for their play and have the title of “amateurs”
dropped.
In my view, Kaufmann is right, because the athletes of college sports are the ones who
are providing the actual entertainment that comes with watching watching the games; because
nob...
