“We do have hungry nights that we don’t have enough money to get food in. Sometimes money is needed. I don’t think you should stretch it out to hundreds of thousands of dollars for playing, because a lot of times guys don’t know how to handle themselves with money. I feel like a student athlete. Sometimes, there’s hungry nights where I’m not able to eat, but I still got to play up to my capabilities.” This is one of many problems that is happening to the players because they are not getting paid. They basically are playing at a professional level, with soon to be pro’s so why not get paid knowing all the work and sacrifices that they put into it? (Shabazz Napier, 2014)
Some college athletes may be good at the sport they play, but also may be having problems financially. Players use the game as a get-away from their everyday problems, whatever that may be as Shabazz said they don’t need money like the NBA players get, but at least something that would be able to help him/her and their family. Something that will guarantee a meal at the end of every day.
Yes, there are pros and cons to this though, the pros would be; They’d be able to support their families, the players may want to stay with that team longer, Limits corruption from external influences, and lastly, they’d get what they deserve after all of that hard work to even play for a D1 league. You must take all these pros in, but you must do the same with the cons. Some cons may be; Financial irresponsibility, the athletes may stop going to class, Removes athlete’s competitive nature and passion for the game.
As every argument, there is two sides. But the simple fact is if the player(s) is not right financially then they would not just stop going to class and only attend games. Nor would they loose love for the game, it would only make them work harder, of course everyone wants to help their family in anyway possible so if they have the support from his or her loved ones, they would not give up on them just because they got a little bit of money in their pocket. That shouldn’t even be a concern because who would give up playing their favorite sport, whilst getting PAID for playing?
If anything were to happen which made the player(s) leave, it would simply be because they either don’t want to play anymore, or because they AREN’T getting paid for playing. These guys and girls are playing in college, yea that’s not with the pros but that’s only one step from behind them. If you really think about it, at the end of the season those players you’ve seen playing in the college games, will now be on the TV, with the pros, in the NBA where they must get paid. Not everyone has it like the next person, and as people said even though you see them on the court and playing, they might be struggling off the court, at home. Whether that’s not having food to eat that night, or their family can’t pay the bills, they still are going through something regardless.
That just goes to show even getting paid let’s say, 100$ a game, that 100$ could just so happen to be the ONLY way they eat that night. But compared to not getting paid at all, they are expected to go home after playing an exhausting game and come back the next day to do the same thing. But little do these people know, when he/she is going back home, he/she is going back to wishing they even had 20$ to at least get something big enough for their family to eat, along with themselves. Therefore, they should get payed, no matter what you never know what someone is going through, they just choose not to show it. After every game if they got payed, that could keep him/her family going for at least another night. This could change everything.
“O’Bannon and 19 others sued the NCAA, claiming the organization violated United States antitrust laws by not allowing athletes to get a share of the revenues generated from the use of their images in broadcasts and video games. Many former collegiate players were compensated, but some felt it was inadequate and they were owed more.” They are even being put in video games, that are being sold worldwide, and still don’t get paid. Yet if they were in the NBA, they would’ve gotten paid as soon as the games are sold, these college players are not getting the recognition they deserve. (Shabazz Napier, 2014)
“The big money sports–football and men’s basketball– are big business, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. There is something wrong with the fact that the players aren’t paid what they’re worth.” The underlined part is the main thing. These players are one step away from playing with pro’s, and still don’t get payed. They bring in millions, from selling out games, video games (NCAA), and advertisement, but the only way they are getting paid is by having their tuition payed for, which is not enough. Instead of that they should just get payed like the pro’s do, that way they can get money and help themselves and their family, whilst also being able to handle their tuition. (Damon Jones, 2018)
Whilst these players are bringing in all this money for their school etc., they are also raising their own net worth. Some can start to get into millions and still won’t be getting paid, as Damon stated, if they are going to play on practically a professional level, they need to be treated & payed like it. These guy’s and girls have the potential of making millions on millions but are being held back financially because of the school. Some of these students can’t wait the year or two that they must because, they might really need the money for the people at their house, for their loved ones.
“It’s no secret that athletes bring in revenue to their universities. According to a conversation by The Aspen Institution, the projected revenue for major conferences in 2020 (like the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC) exceeds $2.8 billion. Going further down the list, 76 percent of Division I schools make less than $50 million in athletic revenue, and 44 percent make less than $20 million.”, “So, what exactly does it mean to pay college athletes? There are several different forms of income that student athletes can receive. Athletic scholarships are the most universal and legal form of payment for athletes today.”, Players do indeed get payed by athletic scholarships, but as players themselves have said, there are nights where him/her and their family are struggling at their home; and cannot wait any longer. Some people don’t even have any food in their house (players too) but still get up and must go play. They should at least get a little cut from whatever money they bring in and receive that minor cut at the end of every week, just in case some of these players are going through something, that no one knows about. They will be able to provide some food on the table to get their family by, day by day, week by week. (Isabelle Robuck, 2018)
Works Сited Page
https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/tndl65&div=16&id=&page= (Lee Goldman, 1989-1990)
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/college-athletes-getting-paid-here-are-some-pros-cons_us_58cfcee0e4b07112b6472f9a (Shabazz Napier, 2014)
https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/should-college-athletes-be-paid/ (Isabelle Robuck, 2018)
https://smartasset.com/retirement/should-student-athletes-be-paid (Tiffany Patterson, 2018)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/artcarden/2018/07/26/college-athletes-are-worth-millions-they-should-be-paid-like-it/#5f471026452e (Forbes, 2018)
