Should College Athletes Be Paid Research Paper

Paying college athletes is good because they invest the same time and effort as most American workers, that's why they need to get paid for what they do. In this research paper I'm going to explain the situation of college athletes. Let's start with What is the NCAA? The NCAA is an abbreviation for National Collegiate Athletic Association. The NCAA is a member-led organization dedicated to the well-being  and lifelong success of college athletes. The NCAA is divided into three divisions with 1,098 colleges and universities and 102 athletic conferences. Division I has more than 350 schools that field more than 6,000 athletics for more than 170,000 student athletes to compete each year. It provides academic and athletic support. It includes full scholarships, cost of attendance, degree completion programs. Division I is subdivided based on football sponsorship. Division II has 310 schools with more than 1,100 NCAA member universities and colleges. Division II is more about balance, it focuses more on academics and internships. Division II awards partial scholarships that students can combine with academic or need based grants to build their financial aid package. Division III has 310 schools with more than 440 institutions and 195,000 student athletes. In this division you would have the opportunity to compete in 28 national championships. It focuses on academic programs and the ultimate goal of earning a degree with a four year journey. Division III does not allow athletics scholarships. The most popular college sports: American football, Basketball and Soccer. American Football is played in school and college. In basketball there's more than 26 million Americans who play the sport. Basketball is also a school and college sport. College Soccer is more common in the United States.

Should college athletes get paid?

The NCAA's decision means that college athletes will be paid by name, image and week (NIL). According to the Supreme Court, the NCAA cannot impose any limits on the educational benefits that student-athletes can receive by participating in various sports. If a college athlete lives in a state where this law is in effect, they can legally profit from their NIL. Paying NCAA athletes is to be able to sign endorsement deals, sell autographs and profit from your social media accounts. By gaining from their NIL, college athletes will now have the opportunity to earn millions of dollars per year. Athletes competing in Division I Men and Women in basketball can earn cash or equal benefits based on their academic conduct or graduation. A possible 80,000 NCAA student-athletes will now be able to sign endorsement deals and benefit from their NIL. The new law also allows athletes to accept sponsorships from big brands, earn money from their social media presence and work with professional firms. A prediction says “that the NIL industry may earn $500 million in 2022 and $1 billion in 2023” (NCAA Ruling: What Does it Mean for College Athletes Getting Paid?). The new NCAA rules don't let the school pay their athletes, but NIL lets athletes build their brand and journey of making money from it.

“College athletic programs collect $14 billion in total revenue in 2019, not including income from broadcasting rights and corporate sponsorships” (Should College Athletes Be Paid?). College sports, especially football are a big deal and a big business. More than 100 Division I coaches earn over $1 million dollars per year.  Football coaches take home an average of $5.2 million, while basketball coaches bring in $3.2 million. The highest paid public employee is a football or basketball coach. Student athletes are paid through full scholarships, something most college students can dream about. But according to the NCAA, over 150,000 Division I and Division II student athletes receive $2.9 billion in scholarships each year, as said in the introduction Division III does not support athletic scholarships. The average scholarship is about $18,000 which does not cover tuition and fees at public school or total cost of managing a private school. Most college athletes on scholarship aren't receiving a full scholarship. Football Bowl Subdivision football and Division I Basketball for men receive full scholarships covering tuition and fees, room and board and books these are called “HeadCount ''. Scholarships that are receiving lump sums that are given among players according to coach determination are called “Equivalency Sports”. Those scholarships are not guaranteed, 1% of student athletes receive a full scholarship. In California in 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law allowing college athletes in the state to sign endorsement deals with brands. The Fair Pay to Play Act would enable athletes at California Schools earning more than $10 million in annual media revenue to make money from their similarities and hiring agents without losing eligibility. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2023. California schools were warned by the NCAA, because they might have an unfair recruiting advantage over schools in other states, institutions will be banned from championship competition. The College Athletes Economic Freedom Act allows student athletes to unionize and earn money off their likeness, name and image. It was introduced by Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, the bill promises to be one of the most valuable in terms of getting college athletes officially recognized as workers.

“The NCAA and CBS signed a $10.8 billion television agreement over ten years” (College athletes are worth millions. Should they be paid like it?). The athletic department also makes a sizable profit off of the achievements of their athletic teams. The team will not receive payment. Universities expect an amount of professionalism from the athletes but they don't pay them like professional athletes. For example, Bryce Love studied at Stanford University. Bryce missed the Pacific Coast Conference-12 (Pac-12) media day in order to get extra classes he signed up for. Bryce has a human biology major, he decided to get extra classes to graduate early. He was criticized for his absence of professionalism as a star athlete. “The NCAA is broken. I am a big college sports fan, but I think most fans recognize that the NCAA today isn’t acting in the best interest of many student-athletes. College sports has turned into a multi-billion dollar industry where everyone’s getting rich except the students actually doing the work. Frankly, it’s a civil rights issue that no one is talking about. That’s why I’m speaking out,” said Sen (The College Post). College athletes bring millions every year for their colleges, yet as of late have they started to benefit from the huge business of school sports.

Pros and Cons on why college athletes should be paid. Let's start with why they should get paid. First, college athletes make millions of dollars so that they can naturally receive a cut of their actions, especially football and basketball players. They are responsible for generating revenue, receiving nothing and everyone around them making money. In 2017 an NCAA survey revealed that Division I athletes dedicate an average of 35 hours per week to their sport during the season. A work study job could pay several thousand of dollars each year and working at minimum wage $7.25 per house for 35 hours a week would earn the student a little over $1,000 per month. Now let's talk about why college athletes should not be paid. First, they already get full scholarships and most athletes only receive partial scholarships. If a university decides to pay student athletes,that money would probably not come from the school itself. There's around 1,100 athletic programs governed by the NCAA, only 25 had a net positive revenue in 2019. And  most were from football and basketball sports on campus.