Should student athletes get paid?
The issue on whether or not student athletes should get paid is a topic that is heavily debated. It is important because participating in sports and going to school at the same time as both time-consuming and leaves a dent in the pocketbook. Although many believe student athletes shouldn't get paid, there are more than enough valid reasons as to why they should.
The amount of time student athletes spend on a sport is astonishing. According to Forbes magazines online site "The typical Division I college football player devotes 43.3 hours per week to his sport-3.3 more hours than the typical American work week."(Edelman) Trying to juggle 43.3 hours a week for sports, as well as classes, a social life, sleep, and a job is nearly impossible. That's why, in order to help the athletes feel what they need to successfully complete these tasks, they should be paid for their duties. Almost every sports team also requires the athletes to miss their classes for games.
Another reason student athletes should he paid is for the amount of income they bring in for the university that they don't get any share of. This year, the University of Alabama reported $143.3 million in athletic revenues, which, according to Forbes, is more than all 30 NHL teams and 25 of the 30 NBA teams. Forbes also exemplifies that "The NCAA currently produces nearly $11 billion in annual revenue from college sports-more than the estimated total league revenues of both the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League."(Edelman) How come the players are the reason all of this money is being raked in but they aren't credited any of it? "In 40 of the 50 US states, the highest paid public official is currently the head coach of a state university's football or men's basketball team."(Edelman) Why is it that the one person who represents the team is getting all of the credit but not the ones who make him