Why should college athletes be paid?

Of course, many people do not think that college athletes should be paid.  They are already paid to some degree because they get scholarships that pay their tuition, room, and board to attend college.  However, let us examine the main arguments for the idea that college athletes should be paid.  (Please note that there is little discussion of paying anyone other than football and men’s basketball players.  These arguments only apply for those sports.)

One...

Of course, many people do not think that college athletes should be paid.  They are already paid to some degree because they get scholarships that pay their tuition, room, and board to attend college.  However, let us examine the main arguments for the idea that college athletes should be paid.  (Please note that there is little discussion of paying anyone other than football and men’s basketball players.  These arguments only apply for those sports.)

One argument is that athletes put in such long hours that they deserve to get paid.  Big-time college sports is not like high school.  Practices are longer and more intense.  Players have to watch film and lift weights and do other things outside of regular practice times.  They have to continue to work out even in their off-seasons to remain in shape to play.  They go on road trips that take them out of class and give them even more work to catch up on.  They put in tremendous amounts of time and deserve to be paid.

The second argument is that these athletes make huge sums of money for other people and deserve a cut of that money.  College football and men’s basketball is very big business.  Coaches get paid millions of dollars per year.  Schools rake in money from TV rights and from attendance.  Video game companies use the players’ likenesses in their games and make a great deal of money that way.  With all of this money being made, it makes sense that the players should get some of that money. 

These are the two main reasons why some people think that college athletes (or at least football and men’s basketball players) should be paid.