Compensation of Student Athletes

Nicholas DiLullo

English 15

12/8/2019

College sports and the National Collegiate Athletic Association have become

multi-million dollar business’ over the past decade. The debate over the last few

years has been the compensation of student athletes based off of their likeness in

the sport they play. The two most popular division one college sports are football

and basketball. The two sides have been arguing for years if the athletes should be

paid. Both sides of the argument have their points, but I believe that the athletes

should be paid. If an athlete is good enough to play a division one sport they should

be able to make money off of their likeness in the sport they play. Advocates for

players say that while the NCAA and top Division 1 schools and coaches prosper
from football and basketball programs, athletes receive scholarships that don't even

cover all their school expenses (Karaim).

Collegiate athletes are very talented young men and women. If someone

wants to buy something supporting a player like a jersey or shirt with the athlete’s

name on it, the athlete should get a percentage of the money earned off of them. A

sports program would be nothing without their players and coaches. Athletes,

however, continue to play under a decades-old system in which scholarships pay for

tuition and room and board but fall short of covering the full cost of attending school

(Karaim). In return, players are expected to maintain a rigorous training and

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playing schedule while keeping up their studies. These athletes train and practice

year round and do not have time to work or earn money. This is just another reason

that collegiate athletes should be compensated for their likeness. All three divisions

in the NCAA are able to compensate their athletes and diversify their institutions.

“Other priorities for the NCAA's three divisions to address are enhanced principles of

diversity, inclusion and gender equity, as well as protecting the recruiting

environment going forward (Young)”. Most colleges are are joining in on the idea.

“Michael V. Drake, chair of the NCAA governing board and president of The Ohio

State University, said, ``We must embrace change to provide the best possible

experience for college athletes.”(Denham).” With the compensation of student

athletes, they all have to be treated like the kids and people that do not play sports.

“In these principles, the student-athletes must be treated similarly to non-athlete

successes. Also, there must be a “clear distinction between collegiate and

professional opportunities” for student-athletes, the NCAA said. Along with those, it

must be made clear that the athletes are students of the universities, not

employees(Denham).

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There is already multiple states and regions that have passed bills for

the compensation of student athletes. Notably, the decision follows California's

adoption of a law that bans schools in the state from preventing student-athletes

from accepting compensation from advertisers and allows them to hire agents

(Dwyer). Some schools have even come together to demand compensation for their

dedication and hardwork to their team and school. “A recent ruling that Northwestern

University football players are school employees and thus have the right to unionize,

along with class-action lawsuits demanding more compensation and better

treatment for college athletes, has amplified debate over whether they should be

paid. Supporters of the system say the education and training athletes receive are

adequate compensation; critics say college athletes are being exploited (Karaim)”.

Some may say that there is gender discrimination for the topic of athlete

compensation but it all come down to what programs and sports people enjoy to

watch and buy merchandise from. The reality of college sports are that there is not a

big viewing range for many women sports and activities. The two main attractions for

the NCAA are men’s basketball and men’s football.

reality. Many colleges, institutions, and even the government are already pushing

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for it. “Politicians in Illinois, New York, Florida and other states have introduced bills

allowing endorsement deals for college athletes. And days after the California bill

was signed, national politicians signaled they would push for something similar

in Congress (Dwyer)”. The bills that are being passed will not only allow the student

athletes to get paid by the NCAA, it allows them to be endorsed and paid by clothing

and shoe brands that the athletes partner with. “Under the California measure,

thousands of student-athletes in America’s most populous state will be allowed to

promote products and companies, trading on their sports renown for the first time

(Binder).” Even though the law applies only to California right now, it sets up the

possibility that leaders in college sports will eventually have to choose between

changing the rules for the student athletes nationwide or barring some of America’s

sports powerhouses from competition.

In the debate about student athletes being compensated there are some

negative aspects. In some cases student athletes could become reliant on their

compensation earned. All sports programs are not profitable enough to pay their

student athletes. “There is a misperception that all athletic programs are profitable,

and institutions are making money hand-over-fist. The truth is that only a fraction of

programs are profitable, while most operate at a cost to the institution (Karaim)”.

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Student athletes are students playing sports for fun, and they earn scholarships to

pay for their schooling while playing a sport they love. “Student-athletes are not

employees or professional athletes who are paid salaries and incentives for a

career in sports. They are students who gain access to a college education through

their participation in sports, for which they earn scholarships to pay tuition, fees,

room and board and other allowable expenses (Karaim)”. The NCAA does not even

need to give its student athletes scholarships, it is a reward given to them for

something that the student athlete excels in. The NCAA could take away all

opportunities for scholarships and even pay for the coaching staff around the NCAA

as well. "As a national governing body, the NCAA is uniquely positioned to modify its

rules to ensure fairness and a level playing field for student-athletes (Dwyer)". Even

some professional athletes think that the compensation of student athletes is a very

bad idea. They think it will make the college athletes think that they are better than

they actually are and have the students expect compensation for just playing a

sport. There are people that think that there are many opportunities for failure and

letting the athletes get paid is a major factor.

Even though there are many different viewpoints on this subject I believe that

student athletes should get compensated based off of their performance and their

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likeness around the NCAA. As I expressed many of my feelings about this topic I

showed many reasons why the NCAA and its institutions, should be allowed to pay

its athletes based on the players’ likeness and skill. There are many argumentative
points on compensation of student athletes, but there is no way that in a couple of

years, student athletes will be getting paid based on their likeness.

Works Cited

Binder,A. “N.C.A.A. Athletes Could Be Paid Under New California Law.” The

New York Times. The New York Times Company.: n.p., 30 Sept. 2019. 6 Dec. 2019.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/30/sports/college-athletes-paid-california.html

Denham,S. “NCAA starts planning the compensation of student-athletes” The

Torch. N.p.: n.p., 6 Nov 2019. 6 Dec.2019.

https://www.torchonline.com/sports/2019/11/06/ncaa-starts-planning-the-

compensation-of-student-athletes/
 Dwyer, C. “ NCAA Plans To Allow College Athletes To Get Paid For Use Of

Their Names, Images.”NPR. n.p.: n.p., 29 Oct. 2019. 4 Dec. 2019.

https://www.npr.org/2019/10/29/774439078/ncaa-starts-process-to-allow-

compensation-for-college-athletes.

Karaim, R. "Paying college athletes." CQ Researcher, 24, 577-600. n.p.: n.p.,

11 Jul. 2014. 4 Dec. 2019. <http://library.cqpress.com/>.

Young, J. “The NCAA will allow athletes to profit from their name, image and

likeness in a major shift for the organization.” CNBC. CNBC LLC.:29 Oct. 2019. 5

Dec. 2019. www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/10/29/ncaa-allows-athletes-to-be-

compensated-for-names-images.html