Johnny Manziel, one of my favorite college athletes, had his reputation and overall career shattered by rumors about him selling autographs. Getting thrown in the national spotlight at such a young age (Manziel was 18) can be completely detrimental to your character. I think one of the reasons why Manziel has such a hard time with drugs and alcohol is because he didn’t know how to deal with the pressure to be perfect, something no human knows how to do, but many college athletes are expected to be so. Had Manziel worked for sponsors and made money, he would not have had to turn to alcohol to have a good time, but instead would have focused on football and his career. Johnny Manziel burst onto the scene his freshman year (2012), as the young electrifying quarterback of a resurgent Texas A&M football team, led by coach Kevin Sumlin. Manziel wasn’t supposed to be what he was, but progressively moved through the season shattering records and making plays that left viewers exclaiming “how?” and “what?” Manziel came into the national spotlight when he led A&M to a victory over #1 Alabama, a performance that involved his accounting for almost 83% of A&M’s offense. Manziel continued to flourish throughout his freshman season and was the first freshman to ever win the Heisman trophy, college football’s biggest honor (Gregory).

 Manziel was the next big thing, until he wasn’t, the summer after his freshman season reports of him being a party animal and wild child began to circulate, all while an NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) investigation was conducted to consider whether he signed autographs for money or not. Manziel entered his sophomore season on a one-half suspension, with a new reputation as the wild child of college football. He was still successful, but with a tainted reputation and low draft stock, and because of it, his career began to turn the wrong way (Gregory). Johnny Manziel is just one of many college athletes who could have benefitted from being allowed to hire representation in the form of a legal agent, and set up with sponsorship deals commanding him to act in a professional and respectful manor. If Manziel were to have signed an immediate sponsorship deal with Nike, Jordan, or Adidas. In the first offseason after he won the Heisman, he would have had much more at stake than simply a reputation. Money obviously is power, and people do say more money means more problems. But teaching these athletes with bright futures in the national spotlight how to be a role model, rather than a party animal, could go a long way. To prevent other athletes ending up like Johnny Manziel, the NCAA should teach athletes to be a role model and allow them to hold sponsorships. 

The controversial issue of paying college athletes, or allowing them to obtain compensation for their efforts other than money for groceries and scholarship money is one that has circulated through the world and the nation for a long time.  The issue its self is not only complex but well-argued from both sides, creating a rift in the world of sports over whether these athletes, who already receive a great deal of compensation deserve to be further compensated and the means through which they should be provided with such compensation. The overall debate on this issue is whether to pay or whether not to pay, but from my research that issue its self is very surface level, it goes deeper (Wilbon). The real debate I’m looking at is about what happens if colleges do decide to pay, how do they create a fair and just way to pay these athletes while making sure everyone is receiving the same or correct amount of compensation. 

Most people agree college athletes should receive some sort of compensation but where the real divide is on how exactly (Emmert). Some people think athletes on their own terms should be able to pursue sponsorship deals or sell memorabilia (Cheong), while others believe it is mainly up to the schools and the NCAA to decide how athletes should be compensated (Peebles). Paying college athletes is an issue that has been on the cusp of national superiority through personal accounts and statistical projections. I believe it is time for the NCAA and the Power 5 conferences (the five most profitable and influential conferences) to make the decision to install a program in which college athletes have the ability to obtain sponsorship deals and sell their own memorabilia, however I do not believe the NCAA, boosters or universities should directly pay athlete’s because it is unfathomably difficult to create a compensation program that is equal and fair. 

Looking at the financial side of things, most power 5 NCAA schools can pay stipends ranging from $2,000-$5,000 dollars. These stipends are meant to cover necessities like groceries, and toiletries (Dale and Luchs). This is one of the main reasons why I don’t think the NCAA or the university needs to be contractually obligated to pay their athletes. More specifically I just handing these young student athletes even more money is a recipe for disaster. The problem with giving a four or five figure contract to a young kid is that they simply won’t know what to do with the money, how to spend or save it. Alternatively, if they were to hire an agent, and get a structured sponsorship deal, the athlete would not only have a professional there to assist them with financial decision making, but a company with experience that could aid athletes financially until it becomes a well thought out and thorough routine. 

The fact of the matter is that the most elite athletes and best representations of their school will be able to obtain these sponsorship deals. The second fold of my plan to give college athletes a slight boost to their funds, is that athletes themselves can profit off their own name. They could sign autographs and create jerseys with their names on the back for sale in which they could profit from. EA Sports could return and produce their popular NCAA video games, only this time with real player names and attributes, and the athletes would be compensated by EA Sports for being in the game. Athletes also could make public appearances for monetary gain. These are not just ways for athletes to profit off themselves, but they are experiences and opportunities for them to be prepared for the next level. Whether in the athletic world or the professional world, these young student athletes would now be able to take time out of a busy schedule to get real world next level experience. 

I think one of the biggest areas we see fault with this is in NCAA Men’s Basketball, because of the rules, athletes only must stay in for one academic year before being able to hire an agent and declare for the NBA draft. This causes a trend in basketball to favor younger players when drafting. Due to the small window of player progression seen in the NBA (National Basketball Association) where most players experience their true peak from 24-28 years’ old front office scouts for NBA franchises heavily favor freshman and sophomores over older players when coming into the draft (Aschburner). This has an increasingly negative effect on student athletes who favor staying in school and receiving a degree. Whereas if they could stay in school and be rewarded and making money they would not be financially as far behind the younger players than they end up. Many of the biggest stars in college basketball do not go on to have great NBA careers. Many of them suffer because of this, when you are a big star in college basketball and are encouraged to stay in school for a full four years you have a much tougher time making a splash in the NBA (Barbash). Also, players at mid-major schools who go on runs in the NCAA tournament would be able to profit off their accomplishments if their run and the things that come after it could be used in endorsements, and advertisements that the student athletes can profit off. 

The other issue with NCAA Men’s Basketball is the increasingly popular trend of going abroad to play for money before coming into the NBA draft, basically foregoing college to play basketball. This is an interesting move, because players used to be able to go straight from high school to the NBA, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are two of the most famous players who never went to college, some overseas basketball clubs are willing to sign high profile recruits for 1-2 years before they go to the NBA. It is also becoming more common for international players to just go pro rather than to come to the US and attend a university (Aschburner). 

For starters, we can look at the case of Emmanuel Mudiay, a point guard drafted in 2015, by the Denver Nuggets with the 7th overall pick. Mudiay who was from Texas was committed to play at Southern Methodist University under hall of fame coach Larry Brown when he graduated in 2014, but then decided to forego college and move to China to play for the Guangdong Southern Tigers, he played there for one season and then declared for the NBA draft the following year. Mudiay was paid $1.2 million dollars to play in China rather than going to college. Another player who is famous for doing this is veteran point guard Brandon Jennings, Jennings was a top recruit coming from California, he had originally committed to play for University of Arizona, but then decided to become the first player to forego college and play overseas. In 2008 Jennings signed a contract with Lottomatica Roma in Italy his contract was a one-year $1.65 million contract. Upon his arrival, he also signed a $2 million endorsement deal with Under Armour. Jennings was cashing in while all his McDonald’s All American teammates played in college for a year, Jennings joined them at the 2009 NBA draft where he was selected with the 10th pick in the 1st round by the Milwaukee Bucks. Overall these are just a few examples of top-tier athletes who have made the choice to take money over an education, it hasn’t hurt them yet but you can only hope they are prepared for their lives once they are no longer in the league (DeCourcy).   

The other trend of players staying in their home country and playing professionally for a year or two before the draft is also becoming more and more popular. Players like Dragan Bender, Dante Exum, Frank Ntilikina, Giannis Antetokuonmpo and many others decided to stay in their home country and play professionally for a year before declaring for the NBA draft and being selected in the first round (Aschburner). Many prospects from abroad now benefit from having some sort of professional career due to the recent influence from coaches who have experience in the Euro Leagues. 

It seems that the arguments currently being presented are both on the extreme sides of the issue, when people have decided there are only two options. A salary with full sponsorship rights or nothing at all. What many of these professionals have yet to consider is something in the middle, where I believe my proposal sits. Most of the time, compromise is the place that ends negotiations, but this proposal could be the happy medium people seem to be searching for. Putting the responsibility of their own fate on student athlete’s shoulders gives them the chance to not only learn how to be responsible with their own money but also to stay in school to prepare for life beyond the athletic field and classroom. 

For these reasons and many more, it seems the most responsible and practical method for implementing a program in which student athletes can obtain monetary compensation for their partaking in a NCAA sport. From a sponsorship deal with Nike to a poster being sold by the school with a player’s likeness on it, it seems to me that this is the only option that is fair and just. Plus, it has a potential to not only be successful, set a precedent for issues of this nature in the future. The NCAA has already taken great strides in the initiative to get athletes to stay in school longer, whether they are promoting it as something of a maturation process for the body, the goal and overall result is that these athletes are staying in school longer. The trend of student athletes staying in school or obtaining their degree early has increased an incredible amount in the past ten years. Per recent statistics, of all the student-athletes who entered universities in 2007, 84% graduated within six years. This trend alone shows that if students can afford to stay in school, they will. So why not give them more incentive to do so? Everyone knows the statistics on how long professional sports careers last. For example, 3.3 years in the NFL and 4.8 years for the NBA, or look at the fact that only 1.1% of NCAA basketball players go to the NBA and 1.5% to the NFL. It is imperative that student-athletes are prepared for the world beyond their respective sport (Jcoram). 

At this point the NCAA and the Power Five Conferences, must make a decision one way or the other, whether it is to pay a salary, not pay at all or simply find a solution in the middle. It is my belief that the most successful way to make this happen is to find a happy medium. I believe that with the use of legal sponsorship agreements, legal likeness profit rules and continue to give out full athletic scholarships and monetary stipends for things like groceries, clothes, meals on the road, the NCAA could completely change the scope of what it means to be a college athlete. I think the days of one-and-dones and student athletes leaving without a degree will rapidly deteriorate. I think most of these student athletes will be encouraged to pursue the student side of their collegiate career rather than solely their athletic side. Finally, I think that a solution like this to this problem, is something that the NCAA, the conferences, and all universities could control and create an even spectrum. Every school has their sponsors and every school would use their players for the sponsorships anyways, so why not allow them to be paid for their time. It’s a fairly simple idea when you come to think of it, people especially these student athletes deserve to paid for their time on and off the field. This money doesn’t have to come straight out of the Athletic Department’s pocket, but it can easily be found from major corporations looking for more national exposure or even just exposure within their state or district. Now is the time to make a major change in the policies of collegiate athletics in the United States, the conversation its self is a start, but soon enough they will need to reach the finish. 
