Morrison 9
Payton Morrison
Professor Contreras
English 3
7 December 2017
Why NCAA D1 Players Should Be Paid To Play?
The question that was brought this writer was if they think D1 collegiate athletes should be paid to play their sport? In their opinion there could be pros and cons to both sides. It is very difficult for college students to maintain a full time job yet alone along with a sport. College athletes should get paid for putting themselves at risk in such a high quality level such as college possibly ruining a future pro career. Being apart of a sport is just as equivalent to having a full time job.
The NCAA stands for National Collegiate Athletic Association. It is a membership-driven organization dedicated to safeguarding the well-being of student-athletes and equipping them with the skills to succeed on the playing field, in the classroom and throughout life. Among the three NCAA divisions, Division I schools generally have the biggest student bodies, manage the largest athletics budgets and offer the most generous number of scholarships. Schools who are members of Division I commit to maintaining a high academic standard for student-athletes in addition to a wide range of opportunities for athletics participation. The NCAA states that, “student-athletes shall be amateurs … and should be protected from exploitation by professional and commercial enterprises,” (Should Student-Athletes Get Paid?). However, with this statement it seems colleges and universities are the entity that exploits their own student-athletes (Should Student-Athletes Get Paid?). In 2000, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) “approved student-athletes’ employment in jobs paying up to $2,000 during a school year; the income can address educational expenses” (Should Student-Athletes Get Paid?). But other than in summertime, student-athletes have no extra time for work in addition to practice, training, and classes. Arguments against paying the athletes always include the fact that these men and women are not just athletes, but they are students first. Between weight training sessions, film room, practice, individual workouts, travel, and finally competition, these “student-athletes” cannot feel much like students. Coaches will at times schedule less challenging classes, or ones that will fit easier into a practice schedule. These points make it seem like “athlete” really does come before “student.”
For the NCAA would have people to believe that one of the key points as to why they would not want to pay athletes is to maintain the amateur status of its reputation. NCAA college athletes contribute so much money to their school, the NCAA, fundraisers, and other school related programs. However, everyone is receiving money besides the main contributors, the players. Universities bring in hundred of thousands or even millions of dollars to their athletic programs each year. Through donations, ticket sales, media rights, advertising, and anything else wit...
