Do student athletes
deserved to be paid?
Tonesha Horne
5 legitimate reasons athletes should be paid
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Lack of Competition
NCAA Acts as an Employer
The NCAA as a Cash Cow
Time Out of Class
The Amount of Time Spent on Athletics
Should student athletes be considered as employees? (The amount of time
spent on athletics)
• The schedule of a student athlete in season is enough to
make any adult want to pull their hair out. Typically, an
athlete will wake up before dawn, work out, eat, and
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then go to an 8 or 9am class. After that, they will get
lunch, a little bit more class time, and then it’s time for
practice. Whether it is in a classroom studying film or
out on the field, by late afternoon, they’ve already put
in over a 10 hour work day.
As many analysts have said, the NCAA has a perfect
model of cheap labor. They provide an education and
everything that goes with it; all they ask for in return is
your peak performance on the field. On average, the
typical in season student athlete works 43.3 hours per
week. If you’ve ever worked overtime you know how it
can take a toll on you, on top of the physicality
involved with practices and workouts. I’m not saying
that all revenue needs to be shared, but it would be
nice to see the NCAA compensate these athletes for
the time they do put in. Nobody wants to work for less
than what they are worth; the “full ride” scholarships
are not enough to satisfy the needs of these student
athletes in today’s economic climate.
Shabazz Napier
Former UConn star Shabazz Napier said not everyone can see
their struggles!
“I don’t see myself as so much of an
employee, but when you see your
jersey getting sold, it may not have
your last name on it, but when you
see your jersey getting sold, to some
credit, you feel like you want
something in return,” Napier said
The NCAA as a Cash Cow
• Americans love their sports and there will always be a
steady flow of people to buy up anything that says “Roll
Tide” or “Go State” on it. The fact that the NCAA takes so
• .much yet gives so little is what bothers us. According to a
study done by Drexel University Department of Sports
Management, the annual out of pocket expense to athletes
is still over $3,000. In addition, the findings also concluded
that taxpayers continue to subsidize food stamps and
welfare of student athletes in order to fill in the gaps left
behind by the NCAA’s scholarship cap.
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Just by looking at the amount of
football related revenue one can only
imagine how much better off all
athletes would be under some sort of
revenue sharing program. In 2012,
three schools made over $50 million
from football alone. Alabama, Ohio
State, and Oregon all rolled in the
dough, yet the NCAA has made it
illegal for a player to take any sort of
compensation outside costs for
education.
NCAA Acts as an Employer
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An employee is a person that does work for another person or group, in
exchange for compensation. Isn’t that what the relationship between
student athletes and universities is? When scholarship athletes became
more common, the NCAA was afraid it would be sued in order to provide
wages and/or benefits to athletes. In an attempt to backpedal its way out
of providing benefits, the NCAA specifically announced that the athletes
were students first.
• But aren’t these “student” athletes offering a service in exchange for
compensation? By risking their health and academic performance
and getting an education in exchange, they are kind of in an
employer/employee relationship. In a more modern era, we must ask
four questions to determine if there is in fact an employment
relationship. Does the employer control or dictate the actions of the
employee? Does the employer have the right to discipline and or fire?
Is the employee dependent upon the wages of the employer? Is the
task of the employee essential to the employer’s survival?
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The answer to all these questions is yes, creating an employment
relationship. The NCAA is the sole body to regulate and govern the
behavior of student athletes, with the ability to not renew scholarships of
student athletes for any reason since 1973. Considering that NCAA rules
and the fact that so much time is devoted to athletics, I’d also say these
athletes do depend on the employer wages, in this case the educational
and professional benefits given to athletes.
Time Out of Class
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If the NCAA claims that the education the students receive is enough,
then why are they out of class so often? Whether you attended a division
one school or a division two school, the average sports fan is aware of the
privileges these athletes receive and how much class time they miss. A
tournament here, a travel day here, the time out of the classroom adds up
quickly.
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he NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament for instance. The tournament
spans several weeks, with student athletes missing a minimum of six days
of class. If they were any other college student, after a couple days of
missing Senior level classes you would be kicked out of the class. If they
were employees at a company, missing extended time would result in an
absolute dismissal.
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College football and basketball alone bring in more money per year than
the NHL and NBA, so why is it socially acceptable for them to be reading
at a 5th grade reading level? If the NCAA provides such a high standard of
education and services for free, then why are test scores so low? The
NCAA can’t control how much effort students put in to their studies, but
they can control how much time they allow athletes to be able to miss
Lack of Competition
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The NCAA has no competition when it comes to competing organizations. While athletes have to stay in school for a
minimum of two years before entering the NFL, more recently the NBA has implemented a similar rule of one year out of
high school. If a five star recruit doesn’t want to go to school, what other options do they have? They can sit out a season
and lose some of their ability and educational aptitude, or they can go abroad. How many people have gone abroad and
bypassed playing college basketball before entering the NBA draft? So far, only three.
With a lack of other avenues for student athletes to go pursue, the NCAA has positioned itself as the be all, end all if you
want to make it to the next level. As an organization that started out to protect student athletes, how much good are they
really doing? The one-and-done culture in college basketball right now is sickening, but you can’t blame any of these kids
who are leaving in favor of pursuing large contracts. If the NCAA were a fair market, the average value of an NCAA
football player would be $137,000 and a basketball player would be worth $289,000. So you tell me, who is really
benefiting by not paying these student athletes?
The interview (Tony Horne former college
athlete at Clemson University)
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1).Should athletes be paid? If so what are your reasons?
2.) Would you consider student athletes as employees? If so what are your reasons?
3.) From past experiences how much of a difference it would have made if you were
paid as an student athlete?
4.) In articles I read “students are not professional athletes” do you agree or
disagree to this statement?
5.) At any time did you feel you were used for your services? Did you ever think they
didn’t really care for the athletes ; they just cared about what you guys could bring
in and how much recognition the schools got for you guys hardwork?
His responses
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1.) Yes, because their getting exposed , colleges are gaining money , and most students families can’t afford to support the athletes
financially. Even though they have scholarships the money its worth the funders of the scholarships normally gets that back within
the first two years from Jersey sales, games, autograph sessions , and many more events.
2.) Yes, because of the schedule and disciplinary rules they have to follow.
3.) It would have been less stress and worries food wise , clothing situations ;Because we were not allowed to receive gifts or
money because it would be considered a violation being paid would have levitated a lot of my real world problems I thought I was
coming to college to get away from.
4.)I disagree, we traveled , we were on T.V , we signed autographs , and most importantly we had fans and kids looking up too us
also like the guys in the major league.
5.) No, because I still had good relationships with the program and school. Just because we were living out our child hood dream
some of our living conditions wasn’t right off of the field.
“Its not like they gave us anything we had to work
for it all” –Tony Horne
Works Citied
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Http://www.therichest.com/sports/5-reasons-why-ncaa-athletes-should-be-paid/5/." (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
Http://www.therichest.com/sports/5-reasons-why-ncaa-athletes-should-be-paid/5/." (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
"Http://elitedaily.com/sports/11-reasons-ncaa-student-athletes-paid/704055/." N.p., n.d. Web.
“Horne, Antonio T. "Should Student Athletes Be Paid." Telephone interview. 11 Nov. 2014. “