Madi Moats
Mrs. McDaniels
English II, Block 3
26 November 2013
For the Love of the Game
Over the years, college football has become more and more popular. It takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get a Division I scholarship. After given a scholarship, it is more or less a job, the players jobs to bring income for that university. It is an honor to get a scholarship and not only get to do what you love but also get a free education. Conversely, many people believe that salaries should be awarded to college football players. They say college football players dedicate their lives to football, they should be paid. But very few high school players get the opportunity to step foot and play on a Division I or II field and the honor of doing so is payment enough. Therefore, college football players should not be paid because the players are getting paid enough with scholarships and it would cross the line of amateurism.
Many people would argue that college athletes are in fact the faces of the school, why shouldn’t they get paid? Roger Noll, a noted sports economist from Stanford, says, “The rising dollar value of the exploitation of athletes is obscene it’s out of control.” College athletes are mass-audience performers and need to be rewarded as such. College football players are under pressure everyday to practice harder, run faster, hit harder, and win better but they continue to be treated like they are in flag football. The NCAA could at least allow athletes their right to retain sponsorship, appear in commercials, and, yes, even offer their signatures for money.
Young adults preparing for college have many worries and finances are at the top of the list, but for the high school football players who received athletic scholarships it is the least of theirs. Most college football players are reimbursed with scholarships that include not only a free education but books, room and board, tuition, and in some cases an allowance (Rosenburg). The ongoing reason for not paying players is that they are ameteur student-athletes and their scholarships- many times adding up to close to $100,000 over four years- is payment enough (Gregory 7). We are often told that college athletes may have a free education but they do not have time to get a job and often suffer shortage of money for food and leisure activities. Sean Gregory, TIME magazine top sports writer, disagrees, he states that many college football players receive food, cars, and services paid by boosters and alumni trying to butter up to the most successful players. (7) Scholarships are a blessing and most definitely payment enough. College football players play at a college level for a reason, they are not fully developed mentally or physically. According to Michael Stephens, a high school insider reporter, it can take up to two years of training to turn a high school football player into an NFL athlete. Why not spend that in college getting an education in case the NFL does not work out? They are not yet in or even ready to be in the professional league so college football players should not be paid like it. Not to mention, NFL football is a fast paced game with 22 abnormally talented athletes, on a 120- by- 53 yard field, a couple of stickler coaches yelling orders, and around 80,000 fans cheering along with millions of naysayers dissecting every move and high school kids just mentally are not ready (Stephens). College football is already very demanding physically and mentally, the NFL is too much for a high school athlete. Therefore, they should not be paid to play until they reach their full potential and decide to play as a career choice.
College athletes are called student-athletes for a reason, the main focus should