Cha-Ching! That’s the sound of colleges making money off of their hard-working athletes.
Many sports fans might know what the National Collegiates Athletes Association is, but for those who do not, the National Collegiates Athletes Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that is known as a national governing body for college athletes. The NCAA has specific rules that restrict colleges from receiving endorsement deals or sponsorships, which would help athletes earn money. The NCAA makes a huge amount of money from sports such as football and basketball; this nonprofit organization makes over $1 billion a year. Some colleges, like Texas A&M, make hundreds of millions of dollars yearly. Yet, neither of them ever pay their athletes.
College athletes should be paid because of all the time and hard work they put into their games, meets, and practices.
Being a college athlete also means that you must contribute a good amount of time for practices and games. This means that college athletes cannot really find part-time jobs because their schedules are full of both their sports commitments and their own studies. Many people casually state that being a college athlete is a “full-time” job because it takes up so much of their time; but, these athletes are not paid like full-time workers. With a full schedule of practices, games, homework and studying for tests, they are constantly under stress trying to balance such a complex schedule.
During a 2011 NCAA survey, college athletes reported that they spend at least 30 hours practicing every week in season, some sports reported more than 40 hours of practicing when they were in season. As a result, college athletes cannot get a part-time job because they are already busy with their packed schedules.
Additionally, college athletes know they are at risk of getting badly injured anytime during a practice or game. Some athletes are very unfortunate and end up with injuries that will end their sports careers forever. For example, a football player can always easily risk their bodies to tackle or block someone and these injuries can cause permanent damage to their bodies. The NCAA and colleges should take into consideration that their athletes are willing to put their bodies at risk just to play for their school.
Without the multiple talented athletes, there would be no need for the NCAA to exist. It is unethical for the NCAA to make such a huge amount of money off of the unpaid labor of these athletes. Many people are paying to watch these athletes compete; therefore, athletes should earn a share of the profits, but unfortunately, no money falls into their hands. Additionally, only ten percent of profits earned from their sports games are used on sports scholarships.
Luckily, California governor Gavin Newsome signed a law that would allow college athletes to take on endorsement deals, so student-athletes in California are able to make some form of monetary compensation despite the rules the NCAA sets. Despite this, there is more to be done.
All things considered, college athletes should be able to earn from the game they play in. Hopefully, colleges and the NCAA start paying their athletes for all of the time and effort they put in.
