Over The Fence: Already Paid

It’s Saturday and you are playing in front of thousands of fans. It’s Sunday and you’re writing the paper due at midnight. It’s Monday and you’re practicing for next weekend’s games and writing that other paper due at the end of the week.

College athletes have a lot on their plates. With at least 12 hours of class each week and daily practices, they are already busier than many of the professional athletes they aspire to play alongside. Add on the fact that these are college students who may want to have some version of a regular college experience and that doesn’t leave much time for sleeping and eating.

They are sacrificing significant parts of their lives and dedicating themselves to their team. So, should these college athletes be paid for playing their sport?

Let’s answer that question with another question: Aren’t they already getting paid?

Many Division I athletes receive significant scholarships. A scholarship covering only part of tuition would likely provide an athlete with more money than a working student.

According to CBS MoneyWatch, the average athletic scholarship is $11,000. That may seem low given the demands of varsity athletics, but if divided weekly it would provide more than $200 per week. A student working 20 hours of minimum wage work would make around $150 per week.

In some sense, college athletes could be getting “paid” in more than just scholarship money.

The biggest college sports markets are football and basketball. The NFL and NBA don’t have the minor league systems of the other two “Big Four” sports leagues, the NHL and MLB.

College football and basketball players are not only receiving a discounted education, but they are also receiving the instruction and development time not provided by their future employers. A football player can spend three years in college and then go straight to the NFL. A basketball player can find success in college for a couple of years and not have to face possible exile to the D-League.

College athletes working towards the NHL or MLB can even be paid for their dedication. They too receive scholarships and instead of struggling in the minor leagues, they can learn in college whether they will have a future at the highest level. Their scholarships allow them to continue going to school while working towards the athletic dream.

Even though the physical money from scholarships may not seem significant, the value of the life they ultimately provide could be essential.

But what if college athletes did receive extra compensation?

In a world where college athletes got paid there would have to be strong parameters. There would need to be boundaries on which athletes got paid the most. There could be programs that don’t generate enough revenue to pay athletes very much or anything at all. Low compensation could lead to decline in participation and loss of even more money for the program.

Schools could be faced with challenges from other extracurricular programs. If athletes get paid, why don’t the actors at the best theater programs?  What about journalists and TV producers?

Any college student participating in an activity that contributes to the school in some way could put himself or herself in that situation.

Maybe I should have been saying “student athletes” this whole time. “Student athletes” emphasizes that they are students, members of a college filled with thousands of other people just like them.

Athletes may come to college because it is just the next step toward their professional dreams, but when they get to college they have the advantage of working toward two goals at once. Their backup plan is the number one plan for many of their classmates.

Athletes have the advantage of working toward two goals at a lower price than many people must pay to work toward one goal.