Argument Essay Final: Should College Athletes be Paid? Adam Almontaser 1/28/14

           The  NCAA has a rule where they don’t allow any of their college athletes to be paid by their universities. Even though the athletes makes tens of millions of dollars for colleges, they don’t receive a dime for their hard work. This has caused an immense debate between players, their coaches, and those outside of the system like students and adults. College athletes should be paid because they don’t have enough time for jobs or for work. They need money to support themselves, it is challenging to live without food or clothes, they should receive a stipend.

One reason college athletes should be paid is that they don’t have enough time to work for money when they are at practice all the time. Also the teams travel a lot so they can’t really work at a store or. Huffington Post states “… For little extra money to see a movie or go out to dinner ONCE a week, my freshman roommate worked a job at the university working about $7 an hour…” This quote basically says that not all players come from a rich background and can just get money from their parents. It also shows how athletes need money to do things they want to do. USA Today Sports claimed “… I feel for athletes whose families need money. Those athletes need to work and we don’t have time because of our school and practice. There are some situations where I feel they should be paid. I feel like I’m here…” -Justin Utupo a football college athlete that plays for Notre Dom, a college football team. Again, this ties in with jobs, everybody doesn’t come from a wealthy background where they can get money from their parents. Another reason why college athletes should be paid is because they need money for necessities like food and purchasing clothes and shoes. Huffington Post also claims “…However, once the season started up, my freshman roommate couldn’t work that job anymore..” When the players are off of the team, when they aren’t playing, they have little to no time to work. The season comes along every few months and the players barely have enough to support themselves. Almost any NCAA executive that has a playing college team is ensured about one million dollars per year while their players who make them that money don’t get a single dime.

Another reason why college athletes should be paid is that scholarships aren’t enough money. Most colleges provide cafeteria’s with food plans for their students. But, just because colleges provide their students with free food, doesn’t mean that students have physical pocket money for other things they might need. Tyson Hartnett, a visionary entrepreneur, and a former high-level professional basketball player, was interviewed by Huffington Post and stated that “..the point of  this is that a scholarship doesn’t equal cash in a players pocket. Even with any type of scholarship, college athletes are typically dead broke…”  This means that college athletes have no money to go out and have fun with their family or friends. Scholarships still don’t leave money in a players pocket when they should to help them get a form of money.



Some people may think college athletes shouldn’t get paid. They think that enough money is already spent on them. Pitching Politics, a network that excels with college sports knowledge says  “… Tens of millions of dollars are invested into practice, exercise, and training their 18-22 year old athletes…” That’s the college’s decision, not the players. The players join a team to help the college earn money for itself but also to earn money for the players. With Greg Bishop, a retired American college and professional player, speaking, a video from cnn.money.com explains that “… Everyone can make money off of Johnny Manzeil (a football college athlete) except for Johnny Manzeil…” Colleges can sell his jerseys for a decent amount of money without him getting any. This quote is saying that everyone can benefit off of Johnny except for himself. He cant receive any form of profit for selling jerseys or autographs. Colleges basically use their players to make money if their players aren’t receiving any form of payment.


In conclusion, college athletes should be paid. They don’t have money for necessities, and they don’t have time to work jobs to earn cash outside of training. Scholarships aren’t enough, college athletes are very busy, and they need to start making money by playing for their teams.




Bibliography:
Huffington Post. Huffington Post, 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
http://huffingtonpost.com/      tyson-hartnett/college-athletes-should-be-paid.
Pitching Politics. Pitching Politics, 23 Sept. 2013. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <http://wnd.com/2013/09/
why-college-athletes-should-not-be-paid/print/>.

Should College Athletes be paid? ESPN Videos. ESPN, 4 Jan. 2013. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
     <http://espn.com/videos/college/athletes/be/paid>.

Should The NCAA Pay College Players. CNN Money. CNN, 11 Mar. 2013. Web. 19 Dec. 2013.
     <http://cnn.money.com>.

USA Today. USA Today, 7 Jan. 2013. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. http://www.usatoday.com.