Should College Athletes Get Paid?

Should College Athletes Get Paid? This is an ongoing and never-ending argument. Many people have different opinions, I believe that college athletes should not get paid by the NCAA. 


The NCAA brings in about 1 billion dollars yearly. Many people believe that some of that money should go towards paying College Athletes, and I disagree. College athletes gain many things from playing in the NCAA. They are provided with the best training and practice facilities, the best trainers and coaches, gift bags with very expensive gifts, newer housing, and even sometimes full-ride scholarships. 


Colleges get the best training and practice facilities that money can buy. College football teams try to equip their programs with the latest and greatest upgrades, the greatest example is the University of Alabama's facilities. They house 37,000-square-feet, $9 million weight room, Tuscaloosa offers everything and more a player needs to succeed. They even have a few waterfalls in the hydrotherapy pool. The 97,000-square-foot Hank Crisp Indoor Facility includes a 130-yard-long field, the Crimson Tide claim the largest practice area in the country. On top of this Alabama has four outdoor practice fields. 

What is commonly overlooked is that student-athletes also receive free professional coaching, strength and fitness training, and support from athletic trainers and physical therapists. Football and basketball players pay $2,000-$3,000 per week for similar training in the weeks leading up to their pre-draft workouts. Adding in the value of a scholarship, a student-athlete at a major conference school on full scholarship is likely receiving a package of education, room, board, and coaching/training worth between $50,000 and $125,000 per year depending on their sport and whether they attend a public or private university. 

College athletes even receive gifts, which can get very pricey. The NCAA gives $300 dollar gift bags to football players before Bowl games. Generally, the latest PlayStation console is in that bag. College basketball players get gifts from the NCAA for Conference tournaments and Final Four appearances. The basketball gift bags can reach the value of $3,780, according to NCAA rules, but Big 12 and SEC players only get bags with a $270 value. Players must decide whether they want items like Beats Headphones, the Samsung Galaxy, Bose Speakers or a flat-screen TV. On top of this, they also get lots of apparel and merchandise, this can get very expensive because every single athlete gets gear. 

Being a college athlete requires a good night's sleep. But how far are colleges willing to go. Kansas announced in January 2014 that they would be spending $17.5 million on their latest dorm. But that’s nothing compared to Auburn’s Donahue Hall, which costs $51 million. It houses almost the entire football team. Oklahoma seems to even beat Auburn. Its $75 million dorm, Headington Hall houses 100 football players and is conveniently located next to the football complex. The building has a 75-seat movie theater and a dining hall named after Sam Bradford, who donated $500,000 to build the dorm facility. 

 Not only do college athletes receive all these perks, but many athletes are in college on full-ride scholarships. During the recruiting season, many students receive a full scholarship. This allows them to play the sport that they love, get exposure, and get all the perks without paying hundreds and thousands of dollars. In the NCAA Division, I athletes receive 59 percent some level of athletics aid, in Division II 62 percent of all student-athletes receive some level of athletics aid, and in Division III 80 percent of all student-athletes receive some form of academic grant or need-based scholarship. Institutional gift aid totals $17,000 on average. 

 Colleges need to focus more on helping Student-Athletes balancing school and sports, that way they graduate with a valid degree rather than focusing on if they should get paid or not. As the NCAA President Mark Emmert states “College athletics is about college students playing other college students, not employees playing employees,”. Based on all the reasons I provided I believe that College Athletes should not be compensated.