For decades, the NCAA has been embedding its roots into college athletics and now has a firm enough grasp to do as it pleases. As viewership of sports such as basketball and football has grown exponentially across the country, college athletics has turned into a multi-billion-dollar business. While this growth may be in part due to the advertising and organization of the NCAA, the majority of the growth is because of how talented the athletes themselves have become. Despite the fact that it is the athletes putting in the work and drawing in the fans, they are left entirely out of the profits that the NCAA rakes in each year. It is clear that the athletes are being exploited, and are unable to make any changes themselves because the same organization that is making the money, also makes the rules. Personally, I find it sad that grown men are exploiting the talents of defenseless teenagers and young adults simply to further increase their own wealth. This is unfair to the athletes who work tirelessly to balance school, sports, and in some cases a job on the side. Many fans of the game, and people who find this exploitation immoral believe there should be change. However deciding to suddenly change the way things have been for so long will impact the universities, the NCAA, and may have a negative affect on the other students who aren’t being payed for working just as hard at school just in a different way. There needs to be a change in the way that the NCAA is treating its athletes, starting with giving them monetary compensation for their hard work and dedication. 

To understand where the NCAA acquired its power from, you have to go back more than one hundred years ago. “Harvard University sought to gain an undue advantage over its academic rival Yale by obtaining the services of a coxswain who was not a student.” (41: 4) A national rivalry at the time, Harvard felt the need to cheat in order to defeat its bitter rival Yale in crew. Now that college athletics had become serious enough to the point that cheating was involved, rules and regulations needed to be established. Up to this point, college athletics programs were largely student run with limited faculty supervision.  “In 1905 alone, there were over eighteen deaths in intercollegiate football, thus President Roosevelt sought to have the White House conference meet. This combined effort on the part of educators and the White House eventually led to the formation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association, with sixty-two original members” (41: 6) Because a large number of students were now being physically harmed, the government had to step in and aid the rules committee in established its power to make the rules. This Inter collegiate athletics association founded in 1905 is the organization known as the NCAA today. “The NCAA repealed the Sanity Code in 1951, replacing the Constitutional Compliance Committee with the Committee on Infractions, which was given broader sanctioning authority.” (41: 9) Around 1940, the NCAA created a committee to interpret the rules, and then in an attempt to assert more control abolished this committee and created the Committee of infractions. Through this action, there was no longer a stone-cold set of rules to be interpreted, but rather a committee that also modify the rules in order to dish out violations. This was the first big step that the committee took toward acquiring its virtually unchecked power. 

With total control over major tournaments and conference play, the NCAA has transformed itself from a rules committee to a multi-billion-dollar organization. They operate under the label of a charity, but would a charity have $80 million dollars to pay its members at the end of the year? According to the Huffington post, the NCAA had a revenue of 989 million dollars in 2015, and its total expenses were only 908 million. This includes the money they donate to scholarships for the athletes, but that still leaves 80 million dollars in surplus revenue, most of which pays its members. In order to amass such a large profit, the organization puts their interests before those of the athletes which they are supposed to be protecting. They manipulate the rules to control the student athletes and maximize their own gains. This is why the NCAA is completely opposed to allowing its athletes to earn any money from sports as long as they are playing in its league. 

Student athletes are supposedly students first, but basketball players have to miss class on almost a weekly basis in order to play televised basketball games. If the NCAA truly believed that school came first, they would not make such a demanding schedule that caused them to miss nearly a quarter of their spring classes. This rigorous playing schedule in addition to countless hours of practice make it difficult for athletes to balance school, and for many of them these four years in college are the last four years they will be playing sports. According to the official NCAA website, approximately only 1% of athletes will make it to the pros. The chances of going pro obviously hinge on the ability of each athlete, but more than likely their athletic careers will end after college. This is a major reason that the NCAA should allow its players to receive some kind of compensation for their hard work. They prepare each and everyday to compete, and they will never have the same kind of national exposure once they play their final game. This is an opportunity few people get, and should be given the chance to capitalize on it should an endorsement offer come their way. 

It seems like every fan of college sports has their own opinion of whether not college athletes should be paid, and the different ways to do it. One idea from Joe Nocera published in the New York Times would be to implement a salary cap, with a minimum salary of $25,000. While that may not seem like much, it is at least $25,000 more than every athlete is receiving right now. This would also apply to every sport, not just the big revenue sources which is men’s football and basketball. If a salary were to be implemented, this would be the way to do it because it ensures all athletes are being given equal treatment, this includes the women’s teams. Joe Nocera presents another alternative which I believe would be the easiest to implement and the most well receipted method by the universities and the NCAA. He suggests that the NCAA should lift the current ban on endorsements. “Johnny Manziel was suspended for allegedly selling merchandise with his autograph on it. According to NCAA bylaw 12.5.2.1, players are forbidden from permitting “the use of his or her name or picture to advertise, recommend or promote directly the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind.” when you look around town and see images of football players, basketball players and gymnasts on billboards to sell tickets. As long as their image is making the right people money, bylaws are not in effect.” (College USA today) This current rule is absurd in my eyes, and should not have existed in the first place. The NCAA can violate this rule anytime they want because they make the rules, meanwhile athletes are stuck with nothing. If this rule were no longer in place, people would stop calling for college athletes to be paid because athletes could profit from the image they have built from themselves. 

Injuries are one of the most devastating things that can happen to an athletes career. It doesn’t matter if you’re a superstar or a benchwarmer, it can happen to anyone. If an athlete gets injured before given the chance to go pro, they would have worked almost their entire lives and not have seen a dime for it. For an athlete though, that’s not even the worst part of an injury. “Injury is often accompanied by depression, tension, anger and low self-esteem, particularly in competitive, seriously injured athletes.” (NCBI). Not only do they suffer the actual pain of their injury and the rehab, but an entire piece of their lives is suddenly taken from them. If an athlete is putting his or her body on the line for the entertainment of millions and the profit of others, what are they gaining for themselves? With athletes currently receiving no compensation, when injury strikes they are left feeling devastated and vulnerable. When it comes to draft day they will be viewed as damaged goods and may be passed over by professional teams solely based on that. If the NCAA does not start allowing athletes to receive money while that small window is still open, they will be left without a huge piece of their life and nothing to show for it. A study by the USNEWS surveyed 200 male and 200 female former division one athletes, showing “Former Division I athletes were more than twice as likely to have physical problems that limited their daily activities and exercise. Sixty-seven percent of these former athletes said they had suffered a major injury and 50 percent said they had chronic injuries during college, compared with 28 percent and 26 percent, respectively, among non-athletes.”(USNEWS). Obviously every athlete knows there is a risk to playing their respective sport, but if they wish to compete at a higher level than high school athletics, they will have to enter college for a certain amount of time before going pro. This doesn’t give the athletes much of a choice, because the NCAA is the next highest level of competition, but if they wish to enter they’ll have to risk injury for nothing. In this respect, the NCAA takes advantage of these teenagers and young adults because they are aware the athletes have no choice but to risk their bodies if they wish to continue on to professional sports. 

America is a country built on free enterprise and working hard for your own success. Student-athletes already work hard for their own success, but are not given the opportunity to capitalize on free enterprise. In an espn analysis, Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless, two of the most well known sports analysts in this country, argue that it is simply wrong to not pay the athletes. They were especially adamant toward paying football and basketball players because not only do they bring in a huge revenue stream for the schools, but a successful program also brings in countless applicants and helps raise the standards at any given university. A strong sports program helps schools in just about every department, and the athletes, like the coaches deserve to be rewarded for that. They point out that the coaches, who are a part of the team, are making up to 7 million dollars per year. Not only did they believe that the athletes should be paid in a similar fashion to that of professional sports, but also given the opportunity to accept endorsements. Their argument is that these players are almost as talented as those in professional leagues, but are treated as amateurs because the people at the top of the food chain are unwilling to pay them.

For myself, I find it hard to believe that an organization as successful as the NCAA can get away without paying its athletes in the United States of America. There are countless labor laws that have stopped this type of corruption in the past, but because it is technically a charitable organization and involves sports, which is just a game to some people, the rules don’t apply here. Back when sports were just a game, this debate never would have happened, but now it is such a big part of our culture people are die hard fans and spend thousands of dollars just to see their team play. I am a college student and saw how big of an impact sports can have on a University and people first hand the other night. South Carolina earned its first ever trip to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament and I have never experienced that type of energy at 3 o clock in the morning in my life. Music blaring, people jumping into fountains, and even the President of the University came out to join in the celebration. The athletes play a major role in bringing school unity, and keep the alumni coming back year after year to watch them play. This brings in a lot of money for the school, especially from the wealthier alums who donate huge sums of money to help fund these great programs. 

The NCAA has developed itself from a small rules committee to one of the most successful organizations in America. While they provide entertainment for its millions of fans and try to help develop the players in a competitive and fair environment, it does not change the fact that they are treating their athletes unfairly. There is no reason why someone drawing national attention should not be allowed to capitalize on an advertisement opportunity, endorsement, or even a piece of their own jersey sales. For four years, the NCAA controls a players life and can suspend or even ban them for anything they feel they don’t like. There needs to be a change in the way the organization treats its athletes, because without the athletes, they wouldn’t exist in the first place. They should begin to pay the athletes whether it be from a salary paid by the NCAA itself and the university programs, or the much simpler method of simply allowing players to accept endorsement deals. The NCAA is extorting young athletes for money, while giving them nothing in return. The NCAA needs to be put in place by the court system to be held accountable for paying its employees like any other business. The only way to truly get the athletes the money they deserve is through the government, because the NCAA currently regulates itself almost entirely without any consequences. 
