Should College Athletes be Paid? I Think Not

It is March and the NCAA basketball tournament is approaching. As I was watching a basketball game the other night one of the reporters mentioned whether these athletes should receive pay for their play. At first I thought it was an absurd remark but when I thought about it in more detail, college atheltics accounts for a strong portion of a school's revenue. For example, in the national championship game in football two years ago between Ohio State and Florida each team received $17 million that was to be divided among their school and the other teams in their respective conferences.

A player from the Ohio State football team mentions the pay of college athletes when he states, "I think, in all honesty, one of the most exploited groups of people in this country are college athletes, we basically have a job that generates millions and millions of dollars and at the end of the day we don't see any of it." He does make a valid point because when you think of all the television money, the advertisements, ticket sales, and merchandise sales such as jerseys and apparel that is a tremendous dollar amount that none of the players see. College athletics also play a large role in Las Vegas where betting on sports is very common.

Although these players may believe that they should be paid for all of the money they are helping other businesses and people make, they too are already being paid in a sense. The majority of these athletes are already on scholarship for four years of college which can amount to six-figures for out-of-state students. These athletes also are forgetting that they are given clothes that they do not have to pay for. I think it's very irrational and absurd to have college athletes paid because college is a place to learn, not to make money. It is a priveledge to be watched on national television on ESPN, not a job.