College Athletes Should Not Be Paid Persuasive Essay Sample

Colleges across the United States have student-athletes that have worked hard to be where they are. Even though these athletes bring in money for their schools, they are not paid for all of their hard work. Many people think that college athletes should be paid because of all the money they bring in for the school. Dave Anderson says, “The truth is, the only collegiate sports that really make anything for the colleges are football and basketball, and only the top championship teams really bring in money for their schools.” Not all the sports bring in the same amount of money for their school, so why would the colleges pay the athletes? Although college athletes are legally making money from endorsements, they should not be paid for their play because they already get a scholarship to play, the athletes are getting helpful resources, and paying athletes could potentially create various issues within the university. 

College athletes should not get paid because they already get a scholarship to play their sport. The NCAA website states that “student-athletes who receive athletics scholarships receive an amount covering a portion of these costs. Many student-athletes also benefit from academic scholarships, NCAA financial aid programs such as the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund and need-based aid such as Federal Pell Grants” (James). Most Athletes who play in college already get their education paid for with scholarships. In Dave Anderson’s article about why college athletes should not be paid, he says Ohio State’s average in-state tuition costs about $10,000, but most men athletes get scholarships around $18,000. With the money they are given in scholarships, most athletes will never pay anything to go to college. Even though

athletes are not getting paid, they are getting a free education while playing the sport they love. 

Where would the money come from if college athletes were to get paid on top of their scholarships? According to NCAA, “Over 150,000  Divison I and Division II student-athletes receive $2.9 billion in scholarships each year” (Drozdowski). Colleges are already paying athletes almost $3 billion; paying them money on top of their scholarships would be too much. Since the colleges are already paying athletes by giving them scholarships, athletes do not need to be paid more than their scholarships. Not only do Student-athletes receive scholarships, but they also receive other benefits such as free tutoring, food, and many other things. 

Beyond the academic and athletic scholarships that most college athletes receive, they are provided with various helpful resources such as free food and room and board. When discussing other benefits athletes receive, Meghan James says, “These college athletes also get free food on their meal plans. Players also get free housing on campus with teammates that are completely paid for.” Ohio State’s current housing cost is $13,352 (“Basic Cost”). Food is also something that college students spend money on while student-athletes get free food and they get a nutritionist to help them with their food choices. Why pay college athletes when they are already getting many free things from the college.

On top of the college athletes getting free room and board and meal plans, they get a gym, tutors, and apparel. In the article about why college athletes should not be paid it is mentioned that, “Players are awash in Nike gear owing to the apparel giant's $174 million dollar deal with Michigan and $252 million deal with Ohio State” (Drozdowski). The average cost of a Nike shirt is $30 and for a sweatshirt is $60; the players get shirts, shoes, sweatpants, sweatshirts, and many other things from Nike for free. Alexander Laurence from Baylor University says, student-athletes are being given their textbooks for free with their scholarships; they are provided with tutors that will help them not fail their classes and they help around their demanding schedules. People say we should pay athletes because they have such demanding schedules but they get all the help they need so they do not fall behind in any of their classes. Another perk of being a college athlete is that they get access to some of the best gyms in the country. Again they do not pay anything to get access to these gyms, for the clothes they receive, their room and board, or the food they get. Also paying athletes could potentially cause issues within the university. 

Paying college athletes could result in many different problems including not having enough money for other sports, arguments between athletes, and tension between athletes and non-athletes. Mark Drozdowski says prorbelmes that could be created from paying athletes could be:

If a university decided to pay student-athletes, where would that money come from?

 Not likely from the school itself. Of the roughly 1,100 athletic programs governed by the NCAA,only 25 had a net positive revenue in 2019. The vast sums earned from football and basketball subsidize all other sports on campus. And not, of course, from the NCAA. A likely scenario would involve universities cutting minor sports to pay athletes competing in the marquee sports. So while a few athletes would benefit financially, a greater number of students would see their athletic opportunities disappear.

There is not enough money for every sport to get paid by the university; if colleges were to pay their athletes the sports that make less money will be affected. The athletes who play sports that do not bring in as much money still may have gotten a scholarship to play, so taking that away from their sport would not be fair to those athletes. Gabrielle Martinez from LSU says, “Off the playing field, money would separate the athletes from normal students... no longer would the everyday student be sitting next to another classmate in class, but instead they would be sitting next to someone prioritized and paid because of their athleticism, not their academics.”  Money would become an issue between students and athletes; people are going to want to hang out with the person who has the most money and can buy them things which is not the right way to pick friends.