Over the years college athletes in the United States have put forth a lot of effort into their specific sports. However, despite all of the hard work, these athletes, making billions of dollars for their school and other outside sponsors and organisations, do not make much money for themselves. Many of these young players also come from poor backgrounds where the help needed to make it through one’s college years is scarce. These circumstances and situations are unfair to the players who are doing most of the work themselves. College athletes should be paid for playing on sports teams because of all the extra time and effort they put forth for the benefit of the school.

College athletes deserve to be paid for at least two reasons. The first argument is the amount of time these college students are taking up. The athletes have to balance their sport practices and games, including travel time, with their regular school work and classes. This also means that they need to maintain the skill in their sport and maintain an acceptable grade in their classes. Felce from Azusa Pacific University says it well, “You will be juggling hours of practice, games, and travel on top of your academic responsibilities.” (Apu.edu.) Peter Jacobs from Business Insider states that “Collegiate student-athletes may spend more than 40 hours a week practicing, leaving little time to keep up with academic commitments…” (Jacobs, Peter.) That is forty hours a week just spent on athletic training time. Students cannot easily fit in study time and homework when a mandatory forty hours is already taken. Student athletes need to put the student in their name and get all of their school work not just done, but done well. Managing one’s own time, while maintaining the level of performance required is a difficult task to achieve. Colleges are expecting the athletes to do this without being rewarded to the fullest potential. It is one thing to go to college for schooling, however it is another thing to go to school and participate in many extracurricular hours when these activities require so much physical and mental exertion from these young athletes. Many of the athletes will be physically and mentally exhausted when it comes time for school and classes, but they push through it despite how difficult it will be for them. Allowing these student athletes to work so hard without reward, but instead making them pay is wrong and unethical. 

Another reason college athletes should be paid is because they benefit the school. One way athletes benefit the school is by the amount of money they accumulate. College athletics is a major business for the school. “Student-athletes bring in millions each year for their schools.” (Bestcolleges.com.) Whether it be through people and fans purchasing the tickets to see the games, the cable companies paying to air the games on their channel, the merchandise that fans all over the country will buy, or even bonuses a team will earn the college or league by winning, these college athletes are earning money for many people off of their hard work without receiving much, if any compensation. “College sports generate billions of dollars for schools, networks, and corporate sponsors.” (Bestcolleges.com.) Billions of dollars are made off of college sports, but most of it will not return to the players, who arguably, are the people that need it most. These student athletes are attending college, that is, for most, not very affordable. Paying for an academic education when so much time is being spent for the school's benefit is not fair to the players. For example, one site states that “The NCAA, colleges, and universities profit unfairly from the work and likenesses of college athletes.” (Procon.org.) 

Another way college athletes benefit their school is by promoting it. Often, athletes, playing for a certain college, have close affiliations with friends, family, or even with people they have never met but who look up to them and might want to attend the same college. A college also might be affected by the sport itself. College athletics are much anticipated and watched events. Often, there are a handful of teams who will be major opponents in a given sports year. These colleges are getting their name put out all over the United States just by having these college athletes play for them. This again benefits the college when the athletes put in the work without getting compensation. 

An argument against paying college athletes might say that the athletes are already receiving scholarships to play. But what people do not realize is that only a small percentage of college athletes even receive scholarships. Division III schools do not give out athletic scholarships. Division II schools will give scholarships to some of their athletes, but the amount is not very much money. According to Andrew Wagstaff of Saginaw Valley State University, which is a division II school, the average athletic scholarship given is roughly $1,500 to $2,000. Now that may sound like a decent amount of money, but the cost to attend this college is around $20,000. This scholarship is barely ten percent of a student’s tuition. While it is something, it is not enough to depend on to get through college. A study done by the NCAA showed that only about one percent of college athletes receive a full ride scholarship. Just under 300,000 college athletes compete in division one and two sports. Out of that number, one percent means that only about 3,000 athletes get a full ride scholarship. Others might get major help. But most of the athletes will receive minimal, athletic related aid through their college years. (NCSAsports.org)

In conclusion, the college athletic system is unfair to the student athletes of today. College athletes deserve to be paid for playing on their college’s sports teams because of the difficulty it is to participate, the way they benefit their college, and the financial battle college students face as they work through their college years. 

Works Cited

Drozdowski, Mark J. Should college athletes be paid?, edited by Andrew H. Rice, Red Ventures Company, 7 Sept. 2021, www.bestcolleges.com/blog/should-college-athletes-be-paid/.

ProCon.org, "Paying College Athletes – Top 3 Pros and Cons." ProCon.org. 22 July 2021, www.procon.org/headlines/paying-college-athletes-top-3-pros-and-cons/. 

Felce, Ana. How to balance sports and studies as a student-athlete, Azusa Pacific University, 31 May 2018, www.apu.edu/articles/how-to-balance-sports-and-studies-as-a-student-athlete/.

Drotar, Bryan. Division II Athletic Scholarships, The recruiting code, 2021, therecruitingcode.com/division-ii-athletic-scholarships/.

Jacobs, Peter. "Here's The Insane Amount Of Time Student-Athletes Spend On Practice." College student athletes spend 40 hours a week practicing , businessinsider.com, 27 Jan. 2015, www.businessinsider.com/college-student-athletes-spend-40-hours-a-week-practicing-20

15-1.

"Athletic scholarships: everything you need to know." athletic scholarship facts, NCSA, www.ncsasports.org/recruiting/how-to-get-recruited/scholarship-facts.