Should College Athletes Get Paid?

The drum beats louder each year after the BCS and the Final Four crown their champions. A college athlete makes a lot of money for the NCAA behemoth and now is the time for the players to get a piece of this multi-billion dollar juggernaut. But how easy would it be to draft such a plan with the myriad of complexities that are inherent in the world of college sports? Let’s examine some of the issues and determine if it is time TO SHOW ME THE MONEY!

If athletes get paid would they also receive scholarships? Would tuition be deducted from their share? What happens if they leave school early? Would they still have to maintain a certain GPA? Would they have to sign a contract and stay in school for four years?
Would you have to pay a female athlete the same as her male counterpart? Title IX would have some say on this point. What happens when a sport does not have a boy’s and a girl’s team such as football?

Does each team member get the same share of the pot? Would the first team get the same pay as the third team player? Remember every player is important within the team concept. Do you get paid if you get hurt? Does the lacrosse player get the same pay as the middle linebacker?

There are 120 NCAA Division One football programs and 345 basketball schools currently. Do you only pay D1 athletes? Does each school get the same pot of money? If not, then athletes would follow the money to the highest bidder. How would recruiting look under this model? Would there be a salary cap and a set roster limit? Would an Ivy League School be the same as a State school or a private institution? Could you institute a bonus plan for players who win the Heisman Trophy or score the most points in a season?

If athletes received money to play a sport could they also accept deals from sponsors and collect even more money? Would they be able to retain an agent or a CPA to keep track of their “empire”? Would they have to pay taxes?

Would the revenue sharing that occurs in some major Conferences be altered? Would that money go to the schools or to the athletes? What about the commercial advertisements since many conferences now have their own cable networks? How about video games, jersey and merchandise sales?

I equate college athletics to that last bastion of innocence in sports. Maybe I am taking a naïve approach but there is something about the purity of the student-athlete that warms my heart. For many athletes the next step will never happen and they revel in making memories for their schools. Once the money enters the picture, I see greedy agents, poor kids who have money thrown at them, and bad financial decisions made with little or no counsel from people who really care about the athlete’s well being.

Stadiums across America continue to be filled to capacity to see college sports every week. This will not change any time soon because their appetite can’t be sated. Paying athletes sounds like a good idea at first. But like all controversial things would the unintended consequences outweigh the solutions to get a plan done? Be careful what you wish for.

Please let the students continue to receive scholarships and go to school. They grow up fast enough. Let them enjoy their four years and make lifetime memories in the classroom and on the field.