Should College Athletes Be Paid?

Every year it seems like the topic of paying college athletes comes up. Some people think that college athletes should get something extra for their hard work and others think that they are getting an education and that's all they should get.

It's great that college athletes get a free education but so do other students in other fields who don't help their school make money. The NCAA Tournament just started last week and to me and you it looks like a bunch of kids having a good time. But college basketball isn't just a game, it's a business. The NCAA signed a six billion dollar deal for television rights to March Madness. When the Texas Longhorns won the National Championship in 2005 they gained $3.5 million and another $14.9 million went to the rest of the Big 12 teams. All of this is possible because of the players on the field but they don't see a dime of it. What other business is there where the employees don't get paid?

It's great that college players get a place to sleep and they can pay for their books and maybe get a meal card with their scholarship but that isn't enough. How are they supposed to do laundry? What do they do for transportation? How do they buy clothes? How do they buy food on the weekend or when they are out of town? You might say, well they should get a job but how is that possible? College athletes have to go to class, they have to study, and they have to go to practices, sometimes multiple times a day for a couple of hours. In addition to that some of them have to hit the weight room. They have to travel all over the country to play other teams too and I haven't even gotten to their actual games yet. When exactly are they going to have time for a job? Why should they have to get another job when they already do one for the college they play for? Plus the NCAA has such strong restrictions for athletes that some of them can't get jobs.