Should College Athletes Be Paid a Salary?

Each year, the NCAA collects millions of dollars based in large part on the hard work of student-athletes.  In fact, the NCAA recently signed a multi-billion dollar contract with CBS.  This contract allows CBS to have exclusive rights to broadcast the NCAA Basketball Tournament and other revenue generating sporting events.  One would think the stars of the show, i.e. the student-athletes, would be paid a fair percentage of the revenue they help to generate.  Contrary to reason and logic, the student-athletes do not receive a penny from the revenue generated by the sporting events. 

One strong argument against paying student-athletes a salary is that they are amateur athletes.  The thrust of this argument provides that paying salaries to these athletes will transform them into professional athletes.  Opponents of paying college athletes also argue the athletes receive a “free” college education for their outstanding athletic ability.  This argument is weak and attenuated because the education they receive is by no means “free.” In fact, everyone up the chain of command from their coaches, to athletic directors, to chancellors all receive direct financial bonuses when their respective university’s basketball team receives an invitation into the NCAA tournament or when the university’s football team earns a bid to a BCS bowl game.  This behavior amounts to exploitation and is unfair to the student-athletes.  The “powers that be” need to discover a better method of distributing the billions of dollars generated on the backs of student-athletes. 

To illustrate this point, I watched a special on the famed “Fab Five” from the University of Michigan.  This group of five freshmen basketball players revolutionized many aspects of college basketball in the early 1990’s.  They were the first group to wear baggy shorts and wear freshly shaven bald heads in college basketball history.  They were also the first group to wear black shoes and black socks.  Despite the groups’ on-court success, many of the athletes struggled financially during their playing days at the University of Michigan.    It is both ironic and sad that these athletes could walk in a sports store and see replicas of their jerseys and shorts for sale, but on many occasions, they were unable to buy a decent meal for themselves.  One of the players had a young son while enrolled at University of Michigan and discussed how he could not afford to buy diapers, but that he saw his jersey being sold at a sporting store.  I can imagine the frustration he must have felt knowing that somewhere, someone was benefitting from jersey sales and he would not receive a penny of the revenue.    

There are members of universities or people who have an interest in the universities who seem to recognize the injustice and the exploitation rampant in the NCAA.  These individuals are often referred to as boosters.  Boosters provide perks to student-athletes such as money, cars or other benefits.  Although I do not agree with boosters advocating illegal behavior, I cannot blame a student-athlete who has limited funds who decides to take money from a booster, so he can have a nice meal and buy himself nice clothes.  Allowing boosters to run amuck on college campuses is not the answer, but there must be a better way to provide financial support for student-athletes. 

Student-athletes are not allowed to maintain full time or part time employment because of the rules drafted by the NCAA.  The same rules restricting athletes from making a living also allow the NCAA to maintain a stronghold on the revenue generated by these athletes.  As a college undergrad, my friends and I were able to work part time or full time, or to participate in work study programs if we needed to supplement our income. However, student-athletes are not allowed to hold jobs. I do not believe it is fair for the NCAA, universities, athletic directors, coaches and other staff members to profit from the athletic abilities of the student-athletes and yet the athletes do not receive any of the profits.

Paying the athletes a salary may not be the only option, but it is certainly a reasonable one.  Because the NCAA drafts the rules which govern the student-athletes, I do not foresee “the powers that be” changing the rules that will ultimately force them to share the money it has always had complete control of.  Should college athletes be paid a salary?

Peace