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Student-Athletes Should Profit from their Roles

The NCAA enacted specific rules that prevent student-athletes from receiving gifts in the form of money, selling autographs, or signing a contract with an agent. If a student-athlete any of these, they immediately lose their armature status and are disqualified from ever participating in NCAA games. The NCAA president signed a contract worth $11 billion to broadcast men’s Division I basketball and went on to states in in a meeting in Los Angeles that since these athletes are their students, they do not pay (Locke). Another issue that the NCAA is considering a concern is how to pay all the athletes equitably when the majority of most NCAA sports do not generate much revenue for their schools. Football and basketball are the two most popular sports and generate a huge chunk for the majority of the NCAA schools. Although the NCAA is making claims that are legitimate to a certain extent, it should not bar students from earning money because the effort they put into these sports is a lot, and a proportional appreciation in terms of remuneration will suffice.

Student-athletes, mostly football and basketball players, generate colossal amounts of revenue for their respective schools, money that is divided and sent out to different programs to make them accessible to all students. This makes a lot of sense and is even beautiful because it is students subconsciously coming to the aid of others by ensuring they get low or no-cost education. What does not makes sense is why the student-athletes are not allowed to go out and make their own money. If the NCAA can use the images of a student-athlete to make money, profit from broadcasting their actions, and sell branded jerseys to earn insane amounts of money, why can’t these athletes do the same and get a piece of that?

Recruits playing at the top tier leagues go to college and earn millions of dollars for their respective institutions, yet they are prohibited from making their own money through individual contracts. Many players should have made money while they played in college. Take an example of Zion Williamson, a player that pulled crowds any time he was on the pitch but got nothing for all the incredible performances he put out for Duke. The Duke men’s basketball team raked in 34 million dollars. The NCAA in 2017 collected $1 billion in revenue, and not sending a bit of this amount the athletes’ way who are earning this money is absurd (Rentz-Baker).

However, the Fair Pay to Play Act is an initiative that is expected to take effect in California in 2023, why 2023 is a question that is better left rhetorical (Tatos). In reaction to this, a lot of people on social media platforms are considering this move as a potential threat to college athletics. If a player is too good, he will use college as a way to the professional leagues they say, forgetting that this is precisely what happens now. Those that are claiming that there will be little regard for education are forgetting that most college athletes do not have education in their mind meaning they do not consider scholarships a form of compensation. Earning some money on the side in a year or two in college has no way of ruining college sports. Proponents of the idea that student-athletes should not be paid are not considering the amount of work they are putting in to be effective on the field and the health risk they face.

The NCAA, in all honesty, takes advantage of its athletes and claim they are trying to help them. Paying student-athletes will not have the negative effects the propaganda is trying to spread. It will also have no adverse impact on the players because the college experience for a student-athlete will remain the same. If the NCAA is having a problem sharing its spoils, it should at least allow the athletes to earn there own money.

Works Cited

Locke, Daniel. “Should NCAA Athletes Be Allowed to Profit from Their Own Fame?” Bleacher Report, 31 Oct. 2011, bleacherreport.com/articles/918372-free-market-ncaa-athletes-should-be-allowed-to-profit-off-their-own-fame. Accessed 29 Nov. 2019.

Rentz-Baker, Mills. “College Athletes Should Profit from Their Skills and Contributions to Institutions.” The Southerner Online, 16 Oct. 2019, thesoutherneronline.com/73482/comment/college-athletes-should-be-able-to-profit-off-of-their-name/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2019.

Tatos, Ted. “College Athletes Should Be Able to Earn Money From Their Likeness.” The American Prospect, 19 Sept. 2019, prospect.org/education/college-athletes-should-be-able-to-earn-money-from-their-lik/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2019.