Should College Athletes
Get Paid?
Group Members: Kumar Vaibhav Jha, Sandeep
Avula, Matthew Bowerman, Miles Coleman
NJIT STS-315: Sports, Technology and Society
Main Argument
Most of our group believes that collegiate athletes should be allowed to receive
some form of compensation along with current scholarship and funding as long
as this method does not ruin the integrity of competition.
NCAA
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Regulatory organization for collegiate athletes
Non-profit organization
Regulate rules and policies
Manage all sports championships
Includes three divisions
NCAA Revenue
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In 2019, NCAA member schools across all
three divisions reported over $18.9 billion in
revenue
The NCAA itself makes nearly $8 billion
annually
Revenue sources vary
Money generated by schools is used to give
scholarships, team travel, facilities, etc.
NCAA policies
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Claim “Amateurism” for College
athletes
Must meet educational and
compliance policies
Allows scholarships, grants,
stipends, etc.
Does not allow athletes to get paid
from outside sources or have agent
representation
New NCAA Legislation
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New NCAA legislation allowing athletes to get compensation off image and
likeness
Certain states have passed laws to allow endorsements for athletes and ability
to hire agents
Timeline is uncertain but it could be implemented as early as 2021-22 academic
year
How Injuries can Impact College Athletes
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Injuries occur in college athletics just as at
sports in other levels
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According to a study, 2 injuries per year per
athlete on average (Lemoyne 2017)
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The NCAA reports over 20,000 football
injuries per year
Stanley Doughty
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Doughty was a defensive tackle at South
Carolina
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He was drafted to the Kansas City Chiefs
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Found out he would not be able to play
because of an injury
Zion Williamson
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Zion Williamson was injured in an NCAA
game last year
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National attention to injury
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Calls for him to prematurely end his collegiate
career.
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Nike’s stock took $1 billion hit
Why does it matter?
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Injuries can cause an athlete to lose their
scholarship
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Most athletes come from poor backgrounds
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Ruin their chance at a college education
Preventing Corruption
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Paying college athletes would help prevent
corruption at the D1 level
An example of this corruption, Ben Simmons, an
NBA player, has gone off against the NCAA and
claims that he was offered a car to attend LSU.
Currently, many schools are involved in shady
dealings and paying players as recruitment
If paying student athletes was legal, a cap could
be instituted that wouldn’t allow the richer
schools to get the best players
Benefit for the NCAA
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Paying student athletes will allow the NCAA to dodge some lawsuits
Some athletes in college sometimes are unable to afford basic
necessities and paying them will help avoid this
This will help athletes perform better, helping the NCAA overall
Payments for students could help incentivize some students to stay in
college longer with guaranteed payments versus the risks of going pro
Money will motivate students especially if better performances result in
more money
College Athletes are Employees
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In all senses of the word, College Athletes are employees
Most report working over 40 hours a week on their sports
Especially in the more profitable sports, they should be paid for their efforts
just as any other employees are paid
If an employee is working at a company that makes a lot of money as a vital
part of the company, you would expect them to get paid
This is similar to what college athletes are for the NCAA, employees
D1 Coaches
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Coaches at D1 schools are paid huge amounts
of money.
This season, Nick Saban, the coach at
Alabama is set to earn over $9 million.
This money can be re-allocated towards paying
the student athletes that are mostly
responsible for the strong program.
Other coaches are paid similarly.
Social Media
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NCAA rules on paying athletes were
established in the past
In the present day, NCAA athletics receives just
as much attention as pro athletics
Social media allows players to build a brand
This means theoretically, some NCAA players
are worth millions just off of social media
For these athletes to not make any money is
essentially a loss of money
If a Non-athlete has a social media following,
they are able to make money
Student Athletes’ potential earnings from social media
Why Student Athletes Should Not Get Paid
(Via University)
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Most student athletes already receive some form of a scholarship
Most of the colleges profits mainly come from three major sports
Professional Athletes get paid as it is their job and signed a contract
College Recruitment will become biased
The emphasis of being a student will become less
Athletes being paid can cause major tension
Kids will go to schools that pay more rather than the school that fits them
best
Alternatives to Athletes getting paid
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High School students have the option to play overseas or in developmental
leagues
Give guaranteed scholarships
The new NCAA law allows students to profit off their image
How would college athletes be paid
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As it is, college athletes are now able to make money off their likeness
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College athletes should definitely be given full medical insurance and
universities should be responsible for any injuries an athlete sustains while
at school
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A small sum of money for basic necessities.
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Salary cap for D1 schools.
Conclusions
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There are still issues regarding payment
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NCAA is making strides in the right direction
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The future of paying college athletes will depend on the success of
recent laws
Questions?
Works Cited
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Dwyer, Colin. “NCAA Plans To Allow College Athletes To Get Paid For Use Of Their Names, Images.” NPR, NPR, 29 Oct. 2019,
www.npr.org/2019/10/29/774439078/ncaa-starts-process-to-allow-compensation-for-college-athletes.
Vcortez. “What Is the NCAA?” NCAA.org - The Official Site of the NCAA, 10 Feb. 2020,
www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/ncaa-101/what-ncaa.
Gaines, Cork. “Chart Shows the Simple Reason Why College Athletes Should Be Paid.” Business Insider Australia, Business Insider
Australia, 9 Oct. 2015, www.businessinsider.com.au/pay-college-athletes-2015-10.
Ganesh Setty, Jabari Young. “The NCAA Will Allow Athletes to Profit from Their Name, Image and Likeness in a Major Shift
for the Organization.” CNBC, CNBC, 29 Oct. 2019,
www.cnbc.com/2019/10/29/ncaa-allows-athletes-to-be-compensated-for-names-images.html.
Smeyers@ncaa.org. “Questions and Answers on Name, Image and Likeness.” NCAA.org - The Official Site of the NCAA, 29
Apr. 2020, www.ncaa.org/questions-and-answers-name-image-and-likeness.
Miller, Keith. “17 Advantages and Disadvantages of Paying College Athletes.” FutureofWorking.com, 8 Oct. 2019,
futureofworking.com/6-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-paying-college-athletes/.
Johnson, Connor. “PAYING COLLEGE ATHLETES IN ALTERNATIVE FORMS.” Room For Debate, 2 Dec. 2016,
blogs.elon.edu/roomfordebate/paying-college-athletes-in-alternative-forms/.
Works Cited Contd
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Lemoyne, Jean, et al. “Analyzing Injuries among University-Level Athletes: Prevalence, Patterns and Risk Factors.” US National Library of
Medicine National Institutes of Health, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5596969/.
Walsh, Meghan. “'I Trusted 'Em': When NCAA Schools Abandon Their Injured Athletes.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 1 May
2013, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/05/i-trusted-em-when-ncaa-schools-abandon-their-injured-athletes/275407/.
Gibson, Kate. “Nike's High-Profile Shoe Fail Costs $1.1 Billion in Stock Value.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 21 Feb. 2019,
www.cbsnews.com/news/nike-stock-drop-zion-williamson-shoe-incident-and-injury-costs-1-1-billion-in-stock-value/.
Berkowitz, Steve, et al. “College Football Head Coach Salaries.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network,
sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/salaries/.
Wakamo, Brian. “Student Athletes Are Workers; They Should Get Paid.” Courant.com, Hartford Courant, 24 Oct. 2019,
www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-wakamo-student-athletes-paid-pro-1027-20191027-4eq6flmnl5f2niyhzmd5fb7qdq-story.html.
“Student Athletes' Unaware of Career Ending Injuries.” Pro Athlete Law Group, 6 Nov. 2015,
proathletelawgroup.com/student-athletes-unaware-of-their-career-ending-injuries/.
Beer, Tommy. “NCAA Athletes Could Make $2 Million A Year If Paid Equitably, Study Suggests.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 1 Sept. 2020,
www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/09/01/ncaa-athletes-could-make-2-million-a-year-if-paid-equitably-study-suggests/?sh=1301e673
5499.