Pay for Play

Scott Parham

Mr. Whitaker

English 1020 (103)

April 29, 2015

Pay for Play

        Is it fair to have a job and not be paid for it?  An employee of a store works thirty hours a week performing consistent punctuality, as well as revolving everyday tasks around his job.  Daily, the employee travels to work, punches the clock, and dedicates his time only to receive no reward.   No one would approve of such ill treatment.  College athletes work just as hard without compensation.  This subject has sparked many arguments as well as conversations across America, and yet it still has no answer.  College is not solely defined by just the classroom, the hours of study, or the grades a student makes.  Sometimes it is much more.  College is a time of growth, and one way individuals grow is through athletics.  Their performance on the court, on the mound, or on the turf shapes students into hard working people, along with showing them that their hard work in practice pays off.  In the world of men’s college sports, athletes dedicate their lives into making their team the best that it can be.  Success in college athletics is a dream for every college athlete.  Gallons of sweat go into every three-pointer made, every pitch thrown, and every touchdown caught.  However, universities are the ones financially benefiting from these games rather than the athletes themselves.  Thrilling bowl games and NCAA tournaments draw large amounts of income that is spent on the university, coaches, conferences, concessions, and networks.  In fact, everyone makes money except for the athletes.  Should these dedicated athletes be paid?  Although many fans and coaches believe that paying college athletes would encourage players to play only for the money, college athletes should be paid for play because of their work, because of their revenue, and because of their value.  

        Some say college athletes should not be paid due to the loss of focus and possible lower grades.  Some argue that paying these athletes will shift their mindset to the money, which would cause their study time to be put on the back burner resulting in lowered grades.  They also claim that players would be worried too much about the money.  Instead of representing their team as a melting pot, players would act more as a tossed salad as it is seen in professional sports every day.  The dilemma persists as a responsibility rather than an issue of just the money (Ehrlich).  However, not paying the athletes is, by some, viewed as wrong due to being robbed of the money they deserve.

        College athletes should be paid because these players give everything they have for no compensation.  Student athletes spend countless hours of work on their sports, and in return they are left with very little time.  Trying to balance a schedule for studying and practice is difficult on its own, not to mention the brief time of holidays and summer breaks.  However, if an ordinary student wants to work, he can obtain a job wherever he pleases (Looney).  If a basketball player decides to take the summer off to work, he will not be the player that thousands will be watching when the season starts (Looney).  As Kyle Veazey, a writer for The Commercial Appeal, says, “The University of Memphis men’s basketball team brought in $6.7 million.  Will Barton, who spent 18 hours that year playing for the Tigers and hundreds of hours practicing and preparing for those games, saw none of it.”  Because athletes work constantly, they are not able to obtain an average college kid’s life.  These athletes practice countless hours, only to prepare for games that last just a few hours.  Some coaches restrict the activities that the players participate in, including places or people who they sense may carry a harmful influence on them (Eitzen).  Also, group outings are sometimes required by coaches during the athlete’ free time, which means when they are off work they still are not really off (Eitzen).  After all that work, they still receive no money.  Athletes who hold scholarships are awarded with basic necessities, such as lodging, food, and books, but these are only the basics.  The projected expense outside the basics runs between $1,500 and $2,500 annually (Looney).  For a college student who has very few options when it comes to jobs that fit with a college athlete’s schedule, some students have to work over night.

                Big-time college athletes make universities millions in revenue through TV contracts and jersey sales, but they never see a penny of that money.   In 2010, a deal was signed between the NCAA and television networks CBS and Turner worth $10.8 billion over the course of fourteen years that will televise basketball games (Ostrout).  However, the money is not just going to the NCAA; the universities receive a huge cut of that check also (Ostrout).  In addition to the players not getting a cut from these millions, in addition are TV stations paying to televise these players, and universities also collect any of the money from the sales of their jerseys that numerous fans buy.  For example:

When Ray Allen was junior at the University of Connecticut in the 1994-95 season, his No. 34 jersey was a bestseller at the campus bookstore.  Nike, which was making UConn’s jerseys for the first time that season, certainly got its cut.  So did the UConn Co-op and other vendors that sold the shirt.  And the school, although its annual merchandise windfall at the time wasn’t that big, also made money.  Allen, of course, received nothing. (Ostrout)

After winning the national championship in basketball, the University of Connecticut’s appeal proceeds skyrocketed as they surpassed $1 million in 2004 (Ostrout).  The argument of whether to pay or not to pay will not end soon as Kyle Veazey, writer for The Commercial Appeal, says, “But in this era of skyrocketing, well, everything when it comes to college sports, the argument over paying players surely will not die soon, not when millions file into stadiums this fall, no matter the price, or watch the (inventory) on television.”  It is simply not fair for players to walk around and see people wearing them without giving them a penny for what they are practically selling.