Should Student-Athletes Be Paid? - BenGerman's Blog

BenGerman's Blog

Should Student-Athletes Be Paid?

Posted on July 18, 2013 at 05:38 PM.

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One of the hottest topics in college football is whether or not athletes should be "paid to play". Not to mention, with the current lawsuit against the NCAA and EA Sports, player likeness has never been such a talking point. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a resolution anywhere in sight. While most coaches and players seem to believe players should be given some kind of payment for their athletic endeavors, there is still a very prominent crowd that is adamantly against the idea. Ultimately, we have to asked ourselves: isn't there a middle ground somewhere in there?

First and foremost, I want to lay out two of the most used arguments that have been tossed around:

1) Students-athletes should not be paid in any way, as scholarships should be plenty of incentive for student-athletes. No one is forcing these students to play a college sport, so why should they be paid for it?

2) Student-athletes should be paid for their likeness. College athletics are the one area where a person cannot make any money off of their own image, and instead, business men and woman are reaping the rewards.

There are plenty of problems with both arguments, so let's dissect them both before moving forward.

1a) One of the most giant misconceptions in this whole argument is that, with being a student-athlete, pretty much everything regarding academics is paid for. Unfortunately, there are only six sports where all student-athletes in that given sport can receive a full-ride scholarship. For the rest of the sports, most scholarships are actually pretty scarce. Another thing to consider, is that scholarships pay for little more than school itself. If you are lucky, you'll have your room paid for, and enough scholarship money for a mean plan of some sort.

That leaves the athlete with little to no money to spend elsewhere. So while their friends - who have time to earn money at a job - are able to go out and spend money on movies and going out to eat, most student-athletes will not be able to afford this kind of luxury. Playing a college level sport requires nearly 40 hours a week, or the equivalent to a part time job (on top of school).

2a) If we pay players for their likeness, we are basically accepting that college sports are no longer about passion, school pride, and education. As unfortunate as it would be, college athletics would turn into more of a business than it already is. Players would no longer choose which school to get their education based on the best fit, but rather which school can market their likeness the best.

This plan also leaves out all of those student athletes that put in similar workloads, but make their universities less money.

The Answer: The fact is, there really isn't one. The best thing we can do is try to reach a compromise that benefits the student-athlete without making their choice of school a business decision. The fact is, most of these student-athletes won't turn pro in their sport. Long term, a good education should be at the forefront of their minds, and receiving money for their likeness would put that in jeopardy.

What we can do, and an idea that has been bounced around by coaches across the country, is form some kind of stipend (or allowance). This would afford student-athletes the same privileges that their peers get, without making college sports all about the business aspect. Each and every student-athlete would be paid in similar form (say, $50-$60 a week), because as I'm sure we all agree, each sport puts in similar effort. At that point, we could leave it up to the university as to how they would want to handle it. They could 1) up tuition about $15 dollars a year or 2) take the money they make from their athletic programs, and circulate some of it back into the very same students that are making them that money.

This discussion will likely rage on until we find some kind of compromise. There are hundreds of different options, and each and every one of us is going to have an opinion on how to handle it. So with that said, what would you do, if you were in charge?

Comments

# 1 The_Wise_One @ Jul 18

The whole situation is a never ending cycle. Personally, I would leave it the way it is. I friend of mine plays for Mizzou and gets free stuff constantly. So much so that he has given me the free clothes. Also, after a bowl win the whole team got free iPhones. I really think the players get plenty of benefits to go along with their scholarships. Giving them an 'allowance' would create too many problems IMO, especially in college. Just my opinion, because there is no right answer to this situation.

# 2 BenGerman @ Jul 18

I definitely see where you are coming from. My issue is less with football players, and more with the rest of the student athletes. I'm friends with a few student-athletes who never get that kind of treatment - mostly because no one knows who they are (smaller sport).

# 3 tHurley2010 @ Jul 18

I just typed up a blog post to this. If you want to read it, here is the link:

http://www.operationsports.com/tHurl...se-for-choice/

# 4 Brutus @ Jul 21

BenGerman brings up a good point. I personally think they should get some sort of compensation, but how do you make it fair for all student athletes in all sports?

# 5 cusefan74 @ Jul 22

Why should they get anything? Isn't a free education, free food, and a free place to live enough. Let's not forget about the free trips they get to take around the country.