
In the recent history of college athletics, there has been one debate that outshines the rest, and that is the argument of whether to pay collegiate athletes or what is viewed as fair compensation for their play on the field. The issue itself has many areas of discussion along with multiple different viewpoints on what the problem is. They all stem from the main core question of: is the scholarship system enough or does something new need to be put into place to fairly reward these athletes? The topic of financial compensation has become relevant due to negativity towards the current scholarship system that is in place for college athletic programs. The issue arises from the thought process that these athletes go out and perform, thus they bring in millions of dollars for their schools or universities each weekend, but they seem to not see substantial return to them for what they brought in. College athletes feel as if they are being cheated out of money they think should be rightfully theirs or go straight into their pockets after every game because they are bringing in the revenue they feel that receiving cash is the only real form of payment. This is where misunderstanding of fair compensation and players wanting more causes problems, as the essence of a collegiate athlete is lost in the idea of wanting to treat everything like the pros. I think the scholarship compensation system is the right way to go and that college athletes should not be paid outright because collegiate athletics are focused on the student athlete at the amateur level, not the professional level. 

The purpose of going to college whether to play a sport or even just as a normal student is to further your education, because that is the primary goal and purpose of colleges. The emphasis on the importance of an education is apparent in the manner of being referred to as a “student athlete.” Athletes who attend these universities on scholarships are still viewed as students first in the eyes of the university and the NCAA or the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Regarding how the NCAA views them, “student-athletes’ participation in athletics is just another part of their entire education, not the primary purpose for attending college” (Miller), thus reinforcing that these athletes are going to get an education first and that the sports might be how they got their but there education is first importance. Student athletes are on scholarship and therefore receiving a free education as compensation for what they do for the school athletics wise. A free education may not seem like much but its importance in succeeding in life after sports or after college is grand as Acquaviva and Johnson state that “the lifetime earnings for those with a college degree are over $1 million dollars more than non-graduates,” which shows the value that an education can bring to someone who takes advantage of it and how receiving a free education should serve as fair compensation for athletes along with the many other things they benefit from. 

The National Collegiate Athletic Association puts the importance of being a student athlete first and to the benefits of receiving an education as means of compensation for athletic performance by means of a scholarship. These athletes are receiving a free education through scholarships that can range between $30,000 and $200,000 dollars over a four-year span depending on the school (Acquaviva and Johnson). The value of their scholarships covers any and every school cost, which allows them to attend for free and receive an education as means of payment for what they do in their athletic realm. Ultimately these athletes are getting an education and playing the sport that they love for free and many still view it as unfair compensation while most other normal students are going into debt to try and afford an education to better themselves. The average student debt after a four-year institution is around thirty-two thousand dollars (McCauley), so in the debt alone these student athletes are saving on average thirty thousand dollars by having a scholarship to attend their university of choice. Scholarships provide college athletes with an opportunity in which to excel in if taken advantage of, as “67% of all Division I athletes will go on to become college graduates, a slightly higher graduation rate than that of their fellow students who do not play on NCAA sports teams” (Ackerman and Scott), showing that access to a free education can be dramatically beneficial to someone who uses it. Scholarship compensation provides enough benefit alone with just the free education for any typical athlete, but scholarships also go to paying for housing, books, food, and numerous other things that are needed by student athletes to succeed at their university. 

(Revised Topic Sentence) A second reason why college athletes should not be paid is that the student athlete is the understanding that collegiate athletics are viewed as amateur and not the professional level of play or pay. College athletes are amateurs, not professionals, and so college sports along with its players should be treated as such. This means that the amounts of money that professional athletes get paid should not be something that student athletes expect to see. Professional sports are primarily focused on playing to earn big money, while the central idea of college sports is to succeed as a student athlete focusing on school and sports at the same time. Therefore, any proposal to change to a different form of compensation would take away from the amateur and collegiate aspect of the sports by basically propelling the athletes into the professional leagues, when majority of college athletes will not play professional. As Ackerman and Scott say, “of the 1,210 students who played Division I men’s basketball in 2013, only 3.9% were drafted into the National Basketball Association”, which shows that only very slim margins of players have the opportunity to make the jump to the next level. So, the scholarship system serves as compensation for many athletes who will not play at the next level but will tremendously benefit from receiving an education at a university. The athletes that go pro after one or two years of college are the driving force behind people wanting athletes to be paid because they are the sort of “superstars” of their teams and programs, but at the same time they are the exception to the rule in a way and the reason the scholarship system should stay in place because they are the rare few that make it to the next level. For those few a change to a new form of compensation in college might be beneficial, but for the vast majority of student athletes, it would only hurt them in the long run.

(Inserted Topic Sentence) Colleges and Universities shell out millions to billions of dollars annually just for athletic programs, in no regard for education or the school’s other obligations. “According to the NCAA, more than 150,000 college athletes receive $2.7 billion in athletic scholarships each year” (Hadaway), this shows the substantial payout by colleges and universities to keep their athletic programs going every year and how much money is going towards these student athletes. With such a large sum of money being spent on solely scholarships each year, it is impossible to think about how much would have to be spent to satisfy the needs of athletes who want to see cash payment because salaries are not enough for them. To simply put it, it is almost near impossible to switch to paying student athletes without adding large amounts of money into the colleges spending plans, making it basically impossible for schools to afford a switch to a new type of system. All the money that big-time programs bring in makes athletes feel as if they are being left out but only a small fraction of Division I schools turn a profit within their sports programs as a whole. Money brought in is not just spent on that individual sport, but is often taken from the bigger sports and spread throughout other athletic programs for the university to keep everything going and keep other sports programs afloat. This causes for very limited to (if any) profit to be seen by universities sports programs and consequently makes it even harder to try and possibly switch to a payment system within collegiate athletics, as a proposed salary type system would bring about more debt for programs then there is now in college athletics. 

(Started New Paragraph) Along with the inequality of different sports programs within a school, there is the issue of the difference in earnings between Division I, II, and III universities. The lower division programs would face an even tougher time switching to a salary or payment based system as Division II and III programs cannot even offer has many scholarships as Division I programs can due to school size and lack of funds. So, the inability to provide scholarships would make a payment system even harder as smaller schools earn less and therefore can only spend less than bigger Division I universities. Going off that Division I athletes even have more benefits than Division II or III athletes do because of their ability to receive full scholarships and go to school completely free as many lower division and smaller schools can only offer partial scholarships, which would also make switching to paying athletes even harder. 

(Revised sentence) The idea to pay athletes centers around the simple belief that athletes feel as if they are worth so much more to their school then what they are being compensated for. The main focus for a switch from the current scholarship system would to be to a form of salary payment for players or performance based type payment. The switch from scholarship to a salary form may seem beneficial in the beginning, but the truth is that it could in fact result in players losing value of what they receive. A scholarship is given out by the school and to a player directly and covers all cost of tuition, books, meal plan, etc. and with a payment system it would be the same way except the student athlete is responsible for taking the money he is given and paying for his tuition, books, meal plan, and basically just puts more responsibility on the athlete. Since the athlete is paying for everything themselves, they are forced to pay for everything that goes with being a college student, stuff that used to be basically just care free and free for them under the scholarship system. Also, the money that they receive as payment now is basically like receiving a paycheck, which means it comes with the deductions like a paycheck would or any salary would as Thelin states, “but since it is salary, not a scholarship, it is subject to federal and state income taxes.” 

(Started New Paragraph)A proposed salary type system brings about as much problems as it does change to the compensation of student athletes as it drastically leaves schools in more debt or even less revenue and by the looks of it in the end does not even serve as much gain for the student athletes as they are stuck with a lot more to deal with from a payment method. The payment method could be beneficial for some athletes, but can also cause major problems and loss of value for some players and the overall payment could vary widely and the effects faced by each school because of taxes and such could play major factor in where athletes decide to attend. Factors like that can dramatically influence recruiting and where athletes choose to attend school because with a salary system it is a sort of even playing field every school can offer the same thing but stand out with their facilities and level of education, a change to a payment method though would simply allow for bidding wars theoretically making the schools with the most money the best in sports. I think that a payment or salary type system would take away from the competitiveness of collegiate sports as it would just push recruits to chase after wherever could offer the most money in their pocket, just like professional sports do.

Collegiate sports are different than college sports for reasons and to keep competitiveness in the game and to me a scholarship system keeps that in place by providing an even playing field for all universities when it comes to bringing in top players. College sports, specifically scholarships, also serve to provide people with opportunities they might not have ever have had a chance to do if it wasn’t for their athletic ability. As college scholarships, present talented young athletes with the chance to further their education more than they might have ever deemed possible because they could earn a scholarship and take advantage of the free education. “Sports at the college level, particularly the money sports, are about much more than the games: They represent a form of social leveling and an avenue for social justice. Football and basketball afford access to higher education to groups of gifted young men who might not receive it otherwise” (Ross), this shows how the opportunity of a scholarship can truly impact and change the life of an athlete. This takes great hold with the meaning of a student athlete because it shows the true purpose of collegiate sports is to put an education first, as only few athletes can make it to the next level. It also shows how a scholarship system provides great opportunity for success in student athletes while switching to a salary or payment system for paying by performance could consequently leave some student athletes out in the cold because they might not be able to afford the ways of college.

Collegiate athletics are focused on the student athlete at an amateur level, not professional, thus making the scholarship system credible compensation for college athletes. Everyone knows that college athletes deserve to be compensated somehow for all the work and effort they put in everyday and many people raise issue with the scholarship and want a push for change, but I believe I have showed the true value of the scholarship form of compensation. The scholarship benefits every college athlete no matter the size of the sport or how much money they bring in because it provides a level playing field and most importantly stands for going to college which is to further your education. Vast amounts of money are spent each year by universities on their sports programs and giving their athletes scholarships to try and compete, while in the end only a fraction of programs can bring revenue, thus making any switch to a more expensive program near impossible. The scholarship is the right form of compensation, as it keeps emphasis on the education of student athletes while providing for all their needs to be met so they can perform to their top ability in the classroom and on the field. Many view college sports as the exploitation of athletes because of the what seems to be like minimal return they get for bringing in money for the school, but the importance is the education they are receiving because it serves as their compensation if they are willing to invest into it with their effort.
