Should College Athletes Be Paid?
By Brandon Patton
CBS 62/CW50 Community Affairs Intern
Often times in college, I would notice friends of mine constantly on the go. It was like they were always on a time crunch: rushing to class, going to practice, then back to class, grabbing a bite to eat, followed by study table. They would give so much of their time to the school, but only some players received scholarships from the school while other players received nothing. According to Forbes contributor Marc Edelman, the typical Division I college football player devotes 43.3 hours per week to his sport. Edelman went on to state that the NCAA makes $11 billion in annual revenue from college sports, more than the estimated total revenue for the NBA and NHL. One has to ask, is this fair? Considering all the commitments and all of the time players put into their sport, when you take a look at the revenue being made by the schools because of these players, the current system just isn't justifiable.
When fans pay to watch a game, they spend their hard earned money to see specific players. Not the coaches, not the athletic directors, but the players. Nerdwallet contributor Sreekar Jasthi wrote an article discussing revenue for the top 25 basketball teams in 2014, as well as the top players net worth for the top five ranked schools of that year. Jabari Parker, the star player at Duke last year, had the highest worth, at $2.3 million. As of March 3rd 2014, the date this article was written, Duke's team had a total revenue of $25,735,093. That is astonishing to me, but even more surprising was the top 25 teams in 2014 earned $344 million all together, according to the same article. Once again though, all student athletes did not receive scholarships. How can programs earn so much money off of students and yet these students receive none of the revenue they played such a big role in generating?
Knowing that the average athlete playing Division I football devotes over 40 hours a week to his sport and the NCAA earns $11 billion in annual revenue for college sports, do you believe college athletes should be paid? Is the current system fair? The college system makes more money than professional leagues. Take a second to think about that. Athletes running around campus for practice, class and study table, missing class due to games, all for some students to go to that school for free. While other athletes are not as lucky and pay money to attend the school, while that school earns revenue for their hard work and commitment. This simply is not right, and the system has to be changed!
I am a CBS 62/CW 50 Community Affairs Intern. I am a huge sports fan and of course you have to love your hometown teams! I currently attend Eastern Michigan University, I love dogs and my family.
