essay 3
One of the biggest questions in college sports for the past decade has been should the athletes get paid. What am I meaning by that is, should college athletes get paid not only to compete but also for their likeness? The debate has even led to the stoppage of popular sports games such as EA’s NCAA Football games, and the stoppage of EA’s NCAA Basketball. Not to mention some players even going overseas to play rather than going to college. It has even led to many court cases where athletes are fighting for their right to seek profit. I believe that yes, all college athletes should get paid for competing also for their likeness as well.
One of the biggest reason's college athletes should get paid to compete is the amount of risk the college athletes put on their body. That risk can sometimes lead to permanent damage to their body due to how demanding college sports can be. A study that was conducted shows that, "Statistics reveal that 90 PERCENT of student athletes report some sort of sports-related injury.”1 This is important because most of those injuries are concussions. Which can result in learning disabilities and severe memory impairments; that not only restrict players to be able to compete but also stops them from being able to even succeed in everyday activities. Sadly, even when players put their bodies on the line each competition they sometimes end up losing their scholarships due to injuries. Which leaves the athlete with no money or anyway to continue college, due to lack of pay for competing.
Another reason that further explains why college athletes should get paid for their likeness is, that they are putting in large amounts of time to just have someone else profit from it. There is a huge amount of profit made by big companies that are branding college players without them seeing any of the money from what they worked for. An example of that would be asking them to wear brand apparel during games without paying them to do so. With stuff like that going on it leaves the college athletes feeling used, and rightfully so. It's like working for a big named company, but not getting anything out of it. Which makes it seem like free labor to the players. The biggest perpetrator is NCAA video games where all the traits of the players are inserted into a video game and sold for money. Saturday Blitz states that,” EA Sports argued in court that they generated about $80 million in revenue on the sale of two million units per season.”2 This shows you that there is a large amount is made off just college football players who see none of that money in the slightest. Another example is that, "Last year, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament generated $1.15 billion in television ads.” 3 Some of these players are putting in a least 40 to sixty hours a week to their respected sports, which is more than many full-time jobs and are still not getting profit from their work. They aren't even considered employees and lack basic economic rights due to the NCAA’s athletics rights. The NCAA even tags student athletes as amateurs, which is honestly used to control the distribution of billions of dollars, which is never seen by college athletes.
Sadly, there are some draw backs to paying college athletes. The main one is that no other students are paid for extracurriculars. Even though college athletes bring in millions of dollars for the universities, there are other students that bring in large amounts of money as well. One of those being when students do research on campus. This is where faculty members publish papers without putting the students name on it, receive awards, get national recognition, and get grants to continue research. Sometimes the research from the student is sold for profit without the student even receiving acknowledgement for their findings. Just like sports, the universities use the students work to make the university look more appealing to gain more profit. Some also suggest that if we’re ever to pay athletes we would have to pay other students who contribute to helping the college in the same sense.
All in all, I firmly believe that college athletes should be paid for their likeness and to compete. Due to not only, putting their self in danger from potential injuries and long-term problems, but also putting in countless hours just to see big companies profit from their hard work. Honestly, we shouldn’t let this continue; stop the NCAA in their tracks and let's make a change.
One of the biggest reason's college athletes should get paid to compete is the amount of risk the college athletes put on their body. That risk can sometimes lead to permanent damage to their body due to how demanding college sports can be. A study that was conducted shows that, "Statistics reveal that 90 PERCENT of student athletes report some sort of sports-related injury.”1 This is important because most of those injuries are concussions. Which can result in learning disabilities and severe memory impairments; that not only restrict players to be able to compete but also stops them from being able to even succeed in everyday activities. Sadly, even when players put their bodies on the line each competition they sometimes end up losing their scholarships due to injuries. Which leaves the athlete with no money or anyway to continue college, due to lack of pay for competing.
Another reason that further explains why college athletes should get paid for their likeness is, that they are putting in large amounts of time to just have someone else profit from it. There is a huge amount of profit made by big companies that are branding college players without them seeing any of the money from what they worked for. An example of that would be asking them to wear brand apparel during games without paying them to do so. With stuff like that going on it leaves the college athletes feeling used, and rightfully so. It's like working for a big named company, but not getting anything out of it. Which makes it seem like free labor to the players. The biggest perpetrator is NCAA video games where all the traits of the players are inserted into a video game and sold for money. Saturday Blitz states that,” EA Sports argued in court that they generated about $80 million in revenue on the sale of two million units per season.”2 This shows you that there is a large amount is made off just college football players who see none of that money in the slightest. Another example is that, "Last year, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament generated $1.15 billion in television ads.” 3 Some of these players are putting in a least 40 to sixty hours a week to their respected sports, which is more than many full-time jobs and are still not getting profit from their work. They aren't even considered employees and lack basic economic rights due to the NCAA’s athletics rights. The NCAA even tags student athletes as amateurs, which is honestly used to control the distribution of billions of dollars, which is never seen by college athletes.
Sadly, there are some draw backs to paying college athletes. The main one is that no other students are paid for extracurriculars. Even though college athletes bring in millions of dollars for the universities, there are other students that bring in large amounts of money as well. One of those being when students do research on campus. This is where faculty members publish papers without putting the students name on it, receive awards, get national recognition, and get grants to continue research. Sometimes the research from the student is sold for profit without the student even receiving acknowledgement for their findings. Just like sports, the universities use the students work to make the university look more appealing to gain more profit. Some also suggest that if we’re ever to pay athletes we would have to pay other students who contribute to helping the college in the same sense.
All in all, I firmly believe that college athletes should be paid for their likeness and to compete. Due to not only, putting their self in danger from potential injuries and long-term problems, but also putting in countless hours just to see big companies profit from their hard work. Honestly, we shouldn’t let this continue; stop the NCAA in their tracks and let's make a change.
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