College Athletes Essay

For the longest time the NCAA was never a multi-billion dollar industry; many years they did not make half of that. Many big colleges had budgets that would make teams such as Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Oregon, Etc. laugh about what they were able to provide for sports. There have been questions for years about whether a college athlete should be paid or not and if athletes deserve to be paid for what they do at that level, after already being paid to go to school there, for most of the players. When athletes go to college they still put themselves in the same physical danger as a professional athlete does. The NCAA alone is a multi-billion dollar industry that generated over 845 billion dollars last year in 2011. Facts have shown that college athletes in the NCAA, on an annual salary, make zero dollars; however, it is a blessing that they are going to school for free. This business is that they get all the work done and the business they want to come in and basically the NCAA athletes work for free. Having a scholarship and having their education paid for is something great but the money they get for school is not the only money they need for the bumpy road to their profession. The billions of dollars that is received annually is nowhere close to being equitable to just a bachelor’s degree. What the student athletes are earning is a big slice of heaven to some students and their families of course, but it showed accumulate to something higher than that degree of college education. â€Å"The NCAA has been historically stubborn over changing its ways to adapt to the times. But lately, even NCAA President Mark Emmert has conceded that it may be time for college players in big money sports to start getting a cash stipend amounting to as much as a few thousand dollars per year. † (Blake Baxter, Eureka College) At least the president of the NCAA has been admiring the idea of giving money to the players and helping them through their college years. Being an athlete in college is having a job, and their job is to bust their butts at practice, come to play on game day, and repeat that cycle, with no pay. Many athletes with their schedules do not have time to make themselves meals, so they have to buy food or they drive to places where they could get it- which costs money in gas. Football and basketball at the Division One level have been the biggest suppliers of money because many of their revenues. These two sports have evolved to the level that coaches and universities are making staggering amounts of money off of the talent of their student-athletes. With the amount of money coaches and schools make, the athletes should be able to get paid for their hard work, all the pain that they put their bodies through, the countless hours of practice workouts, and classes. Surely they need to be paid for putting it all on the line. Argument #2 Many college athletes make decisions that will change their lives- such as Trent Richardson, who played for University Of Alabama. Richardson had to deal with the decision of having to raise two children while being a full time college athlete. When all this was going on, Richardson had no income what so ever, no time, and was dedicated to the football program at U of A. Richardson brought publicity to his school and to other athletes with children that they were trying to raise. While Richardson was at school playing, his two daughters would be at home with their mother watching their daddy play and kissing the screen when he would appear. â€Å"He’s a big strong guy, he’s hitting everybody in practice. And when he’s around his kids, he’s a completely different person,† running back Eddie Lacy said. â€Å"He’s real sweet. He’s a good father. † With all the strength he shows on the field and the sweetness he shares with his daughter, and the hard work he and others put out, they still earn zero dollars each year. It shows and tells all the time- he puts in time and effort to make it in life and take care of his girls â€Å"It’s a level of maturity you don’t normally find among guys his age,† running backs coach Burton Burns said. â€Å"They are a priority for him. He has a tough schedule with school and football, but he is going to find time to spend with those girls. † That level of maturity should never be second guessed and overlooked to give certain players money to get through school and help raise their family like in Richardson’s situation. He is basically working a full time job, going to school, and playing football for Coach Saben. He needs to get what he earns, which would be a little salary. A father and athlete that could say this â€Å"I don’t want them to struggle like I did, to go through the stuff I had to go through,† Richardson said. â€Å"That’s really motivated me on the field. â€Å"Because when I play with my girls on my mind, I feel like nobody can stop me. † Richardson is not the only struggling college athlete. There are a lot of other teams in college that have athletes that participate in the games and practices but do not get any profit from their hard work and dedication. Argument #3 Eric LeGrand, the former Rutgers University football player who was paralyzed from the neck down during a 2010 game, GIving the same effort that each professional athlete makes each game day. Players putting their bodies in this physical danger, and only getting a certain degree when graduating after four years of college. LeGrand the Big Defensive Lineman was on kick off team running down the field trying to make a tackle, and when hitting a player he fell to the ground and was motionless; it was devastating. â€Å"The way Eric lives his life epitomizes what we are looking for in Buccaneer Men,† Schiano said. If the NCAA would recognize the effort and the danger these athletes are put in, they would be generous and give college athletes a little salary. Players like LeGrand are why i stand behind the decision to pay the players a little profit of what they help make. Without all of these amazing athletes i dont beleive the schools would encounter most of the money they make as a university or college. NOt just football, other sports bring in huge amounts of money from ticket sales, team apparel sales, etc. College Athletes are the epitome of where all the money comes from and deserve more then a bachelor degree, and deserve a little allowance for all their hardwork, bringing in a lot of the income. Works cited http://usatoday30. usatoday. com/sports/college/football/acc/story/2012-01-08/tough-guy-richardson-softens-up-as-a-dad/52458854/1 http://www. cbssports. com/collegefootball/story/21575106/if-college-athletes-really-owe-schools-money-then-they-must-be-paid