Avish Patel
Composition 1101
Mrs. Ray Stokes
12/1/2014
Indenture Servant: The Life of a College Athlete
College Sports are a twelve billion dollar a year industry (C. Giannetti). Each university participating in the NCAA tournaments and games earns millions of dollars for their athletic program through ticket sales, donations or anything else with a price tag. Every day the students put their blood, sweat, and tears into practices, games and classrooms, yet only the people around them profit from their misery. College student athletes deserve their share of profits in the way of a salary because it can allow them to profit for as long as they are able to play. The concept of college sports is tied together by a non-profit organization called the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It is dedicated to safeguarding the well-being of student-athletes and equipping them with the skills to succeed on the playing field, in the classroom and throughout life (NCAA.org). They set the rules for the college sports that are followed by every student athlete from the twelve hundred universities that are part of it. The College Student Athletes must abide by the code of amateurism, which prohibits any college athlete from accepting any kind of payments or benefits beyond the scholarships (R. Finkel, T. Martin, and J. Paley, “Schooled: The Price of College Sports”). Every year the student athletes have to sign a contract presenting them as an amateur athlete that cannot be paid or receive any endorsements from companies or the school. The failure to sign the agreement would give the NCAA the right to ban the athlete from playing his or her sport and revoke the scholarship received. Therefore, being under contract, the student athletes are obliged to follow the rules created by the NCAA (“Schooled: The Price of College Sports”). According to the leading activist against the NCAA, Taylor Branch believes “College athletes do not have fundamental rights such as the right to representation, or no due process, the right of a free citizen to seek compensation for services that are valuable.” A convicted felon has more rights in the constitution than a college athlete has played in the system of the NCAA. Throughout history the best athletes have made money. Ancient Greek athletes received the best prizes worth substantial amount of money, lived in the greatest of homes and gained power in the government (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology). There are billions of dollars generated by the players every year for their school, coaches, businesses, and the NCAA. The coaches are making millions a year and receive perks such as bonuses, assistant coaches, fancy stadiums, and endorsement deals. The university brings in millions of dollars through ticket sales, donations, media rights, advertising, and corporate sponsorship. The NCAA recently signed a $10.8 billion television contract with CBS sports (The Huffington Post). These events occur because of the labor of the nineteen year old kids on the field and on the court. In return for fueling this industry of college sports, the student athletes promise something priceless: a free education. This is the definition of indentured servant. The NCAA is on its way to become a billion-dollar industry by regulating the players to the point of exploitation. I believed that a college degree is an invaluable asset, many Americans find trouble to afford, but these athletes were very fortunate to receive a free education. After research and collaboration with College athletes, I realized that student athletes are in a situation the rest can’t relate to. A typical college athlete begins his or her day in the weight room from 6 am to 9 am, attend classes from 10 am to 1 pm, be in team meetings from two to three, practice until six, work with tutors, then do homework (C. Giannetti). In exchange for their scholarship, football and basketball players are expected to meet