College football is a money-making machine, but should college football players get paid? College football’s history started with amateurism, which is how college football has been viewed until recent times. People started to have opposing opinions after the business proved to have a huge viewership, due to the popularity of colleges and fanbases. Some people want college football players to get paid, while some still believe in amateurism; the current state of this argument is split. College football players should be paid because colleges make money off of player’s names, coaches get paid millions, and college football is a huge business.
Colleges make money off of the players’ names, which is unfair. In any other context, such as a brand deal or professional sports, players would always receive money for promotion/money made off of their name. College football in particular is a very wealthy industry, in which stadiums are filled with people wanting to watch the best players in college brawl. Lots of merchandise and other apparel make money off of players’ names, yet none of the profits go to the players. An example of this argument is superstar Trevor Lawrence, an athlete that would be paid $2.4 million according to CNBC, but is not paid due to amateurism.
Additionally, an NBER study found that “less than 7% of the revenue from college football and college basketball — ends up going to those sports’ athletes in the form of academic scholarships and stipends to cover living expenses. 93% of revenue is profit. Even if colleges give athletes a scholarship and living means, money is still needed for daily expenses, among other things. College football players work day in and day out to represent their respective colleges and try to win, while only being given 7% of the total revenue made from their efforts.
Coaches get paid millions, but not the players. College coaches receive mountains of money for their services; they are overpaid. In 2011, a college football coach was paid more than $2.2 million. Coaches get paid millions, but the team that gets them wins doesn’t receive anything. When comparing a coach’s salary to that of a college scholarship, the coach has much more of a dividend of the pay. According to InsideSources, “the salaries that would be paid to the players are instead paid to the coach”. This is a major issue, because college football coaches, no matter how good, are getting paid the players cut. Because the salaries of the players aren’t determined by market forces, coaches get the salaries of the players. Even though college football is a business, players still can’t get their slice of the pie.
On the contrary, since the athletes already got a scholarship, they shouldn’t also receive monetary compensation. Most college football players receive a scholarship if they are good enough. This amount of money covers the most expensive part of college, the education. If students have already received money for attending the school, why should schools be obligated to pay them more? Even getting a scholarship is a huge accomplishment, as that is a sign of recognition from the college. Education is expensive, and asking for more than a free education is selfish; college tuitions are very expensive, especially if it’s a big school. Besides, colleges have to give out other scholarships besides football. Lastly, colleges pay for other sports, as well as the campus, and everything to do with college life. Asking more of a college that has already provided many services is not right.
College football players should be paid because colleges make money off of player’s names, coaches get paid millions, and college football is a huge business. Trevor Lawrence is one of many examples of athletes that should be paid millions as a superstar. College football is a business, and without the players getting their well-deserved dividends, the NCAA will continue to preserve amateurism rules to solely keep the profits.
