Why College Athletes Should be Paid

Tennis parents, be aware that while athletic scholarships help your child play college sports, get into their dream school, and prevent you from taking out a bank loan, your child could be receiving even more assistance.

During the four-plus years that your child will be attending college, your son or daughter will often be “shouldering the load” and doing the “heavy lifting.” It is time for the NCAA to acknowledge that fact and pay them the money they deserve.

The issue of whether college athletes should or shouldn’t be paid is a huge question across the U.S. Institutions benefit financially from athlete’s successes on the field, yet college athletes do not receive anything in return. They aren’t compensated for their hard work or dedication to their sport and school. Scholarships do help them, however, these scholarships do not give athletes the full financial assistance they need.

The groceries they need to buy, the late nights and early mornings they spend training, the harsh injuries they suffer, and the cramped study schedules they navigate aren’t met by simple scholarships. It doesn’t matter if you are college tennis player at a community college or a football player at the University of Alabama, each represents their school and provides media coverage to some degree. College athletes do a great deal for their respective institutions and they must be compensated.

Some college athletes need to support and provide for their families while attending school. Mr. Jonathan Mahler of Businessweek.com said in his article titled, “College Athletes Should be Paid Exactly This Much,” he notes, “The playoff series (in Division 1 college football) will generate on the order of $480 million a year.” He also states that, “The athletes who are going to make college football more popular and lucrative than it has ever been won’t earn a penny more” and “By preventing athletes from getting paid, all we’re really doing is transferring money from young men—the majority of whom are neither White nor wealthy.”

Sadly, this means that even though the college athletes will be generating$480 million annually for the NCAA while taking physical beatings on the football field, they will not see a single cent of that money. This also assures that college athletes aren’t receiving the money they need to live securely.

Now, let’s take a look at a hypothetical situation, but also a very realistic one. Imagine a teacher going to work to teach students from six in the morning to five in the afternoon. This teacher is supporting two kids on her own, needs to pay bills, send her kids to school, and provide food for them. The teacher ends up not getting paid for her long hours on the job. Does this situation sound familiar? It is identical to the current state of adversity that college athletes continue to face.

College athletes are working, day-in/day-out, and are receiving a raw deal. The only ones financially compensated are the collegiate institutions. NCAA it’s time to do the right thing. Pay these young adults. Give them some support.

 

Centercourt
USTA NTC

January/February 2024 Digital Edition