Hafner 1

Josh Hafner
Mrs. Johnston
EN 111
19 October, 2014

Should Student Athletes Get Paid?

For as long as college sports have been around, Division 1 athletes have been committing
themselves entirely to the sport they love. Day after day they go out and compete, pushing their bodies to
the limit just to get a win for their school. Although it seems like just a bunch of really good athletes
playing the sport they love, at the Division 1 level, it is more or less a business. The job of the athlete,
aside from winning games, is to bring in a profit to the University. Since the athletes have become such a
big money maker for these colleges, the controversial question has been asked: should student athletes
receive an income? I believe athletes should get some sort of small weekly income to pay for necessities
in return for the hard work and amount of money they bring to their universities
Only a select few high school athletes get to play the sport the love at the college level. About
two percent of high school athletes are awarded athletic scholarships to compete in college (NCAA). Not
all scholarships are the same. Somebody might have a full ride while another person might have only a
small percentage. People who dont receive scholarships can still tryout for the team. Athletes who make
the tryout are called walk-ons, and they will receive no money to play on that team. That being said, if a
walk on sticks with it and becomes a benefit to the team, he can earn himself a scholarship for the next
season. It is an honor and a privilege to play on any collegiate sports team, let alone get an athletic
scholarship. That being said, student athletes are not on the same schedule as students who dont play a
college sport. These athletes dont just play during the season, they are practicing and working on their
game year around. The hours are long and it leaves no time to get a job like other students are able to.
USA Today says an athletes fulltime job is playing their sport (USA Today). Being on the football team

Hafner 2
at Northern Michigan, we practice from 2-6 p.m. during the season, on top of all the classes and studying
that every student has to endure. On top of that we have a mandatory study table twice a week that lasts
until 8:30 p.m. These times dont include the game on Saturdays and being at the Dome for meetings and
workouts Sunday from 2-5:30 than study table from 7-8:30.There is just no time to fit in a job. Also, the
players will have to travel to play teams so they might be gone from Friday until Sunday anyway. This
can be a problem for student athletes who dont have much money to begin with. Yes, that student may
not be paying much for college but he still might not have any cash in his pocket to go buy food or other
necessities any college student can get.
Although being on a college sports team may be tough, there are a lot of perks to go with it,
almost too much some would say. Aside from college being cheaper or free depending on the scholarship
the student gets, athletes also receive free tutoring, school attire, and free medical care for sports related
injuries (The Baylor Lariat). Some people think this is too much as it is and student athletes are spoiled
already, so the idea of giving them an income is out of the picture. Another reason people believe student
athletes shouldnt get an income is because technically, with their scholarship, they are getting paid. Some
athletes might be getting there school completely paid for and not have to pay a cent for four years. Over
four years that money can add up. Ohio State University out of state tuition is $36,526 (The Verdict). If
you multiply that by 4 years it adds up to a total of $146,104. A student with a full ride scholar ship
wouldnt have to pay any of that leaving the family with all sorts of savings. Not to mention not having
any loans coming out of college.
Although athletes are given athletic scholarships to attend schools that can save thousands of
dollars in their pocket, everyday students have the same opportunity to receive money through academic
scholarships. Depending on your GPA and ACT Test scores, a student can receive a full academic
scholarship, meaning they also wouldnt have to pay a cent for college. Now, if we compare two students,
one with a full academic scholarship and one with a full athletic scholarship, the regular student still lives
the normal college life, where the athlete works all day for the school. On top of that, the normal student

Hafner 3
would have a job to earn money to buy the things they may need for college. But the athlete, who lets say
plays football, spends on average 43.3 hours a week on his sports (USA Today), doesnt have time to get a
job or make any sort of income. I believe he should get something in return for what he is doing for the
university.
As far as paying athletes go, some colleges are wealthier than others, which could lead to players
going to colleges with the most money instead of going to a college to get the best education. To make
sure this doesnt happen I believe all players should be paid the same amount, it should have nothing to
do with how good the athlete is or what school they go too. Nothing big, but enough money to buy food
or clothes if they need it. I realize this is a costly task but I think it is appropriate so players dont have to
go through college like Corey Hilliard. Corey Hilliard, current Lions offensive lineman, talked to the Free
Press about what it was like for him going through college playing football. He talks about how grueling
the practices were and how all he wanted to do was relax and go eat but didnt have any money to pay for
food. Meanwhile, the coaches are off having nice diners at four star restaurants. (Free Press) He talks
about how his jersey can be sold at Walmart for money, but he wouldnt see any of the money and the
only reason that jersey sells is because of the way he plays on the field. (Free Press) Its almost like
inventing a product and not receiving any of the profit from it.
At the end of the day I believe student athletes should receive some sort of income so they can
have some money through college. It doesnt have to be much, just something to buy necessities each
week. Colleges make millions each year on their sporting events. I realize no all of this money is
available for athletes. But I am sure they can put a little portion of that on the people making them all that
money. According to USA Today, the University of Texas makes a total profit of $18,883,901. (USA
Today) That amount of money is more than enough to help athletes with what they need.

Hafner 4
Works Citied
Buchanan, Neil "College Athletes, Full-Ride Scholarships, and Anti-Intellectualism." Verdict. N.p., 5 Dec.
2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2014. http://verdict.justia.com/2013/12/05/college-athletes-full-ride-scholarshipsanti-intellectualism
Detroit Free Press Special Writer. "Corey Hilliard: Should Student-athletes Get Paid? Free Press N.p., 11
Oct. 2014 Web. 19 Oct. 2014. http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2014/10/11/detroit-lions-coreyhilliard/17126285
NCAA Committee. "Probability of Competing beyond High School." NCAA Public Home Page. N.p., 1
Sept. 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/probability-competingbeyond-high-school
Web Editor. "Editorial: NCAA Athletes Shouldn't Get Paid. The Baylor Lariat. N.p. 22 Nov. 2013. Web.
12 Oct. 2014. http://baylorlariat.com/2013/11/22/editorial-ncaa-athletes-shouldnt-get-paid/
Wieberg, Steve. "NCAA Survey Delves into Practice Time, Coaches' Trust." USA Today. N.p., 14 Jan.
2011. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/2011-01-14-ncaa-survey_N.htm