Should College Athletes Be Paid

The argument of whether college athletes should be paid or not has been around for years, especially since the popularity and revenue of the NCAA has grown increasingly. Most argue against the athletes being paid, referring to the fact that they still are “student-athletes” and are able to learn to prepare themselves to make money once they graduate. However, others argue for their payment for a number of reasons. The debate if college athletes should be paid or not is one that involves the true value of education. College athletes should not be paid, because these athletes receive some of the greatest educations in the country for little to no cost, to play a sport they love. Although the students aren’t paid directly, the money does not go straight to their pockets, they are provided with an educational value much higher. It is said by many that one reason college sports triumph over professional is because the athletes are not paid, and they play strictly for the love of the game, and the desire to win, payment of these athletes would diminish the passion of collegiate sports.
However, there are many people who feel that these athletes should be paid and rewarded directly for their hard work and dedication. Those who believe that college athletes should be paid, feel that they deserve to be rewarded for their hard work and the revenue they produce. It is a fact that college football and men’s basketball are the spearheads of the NCAA’s revenue. According to some experts, from the Harvard Journal on Legislation, “in the past 12 years, the amount of money generated by these two sports (football and basketball) has increased nearly 300%, such that they now fund almost all other sports programs”. (Meshefejian). Many people feel that the athletes involved with these two sports do such a great job of performing to their fullest potential, and provide the NCAA and their school with such a great profit that they deserve to see some of the money they make. They...