Although college athletes in the state of California are going to start getting paid in 2022, these Athletes are earning them billions, and they still can’t pay them a single dollar up until now. College Athletes risk their bodies to play the games they love and to move on to the next level. They don’t consider them professionals, but after high school, they’re adults and it’s like a job with how much time it takes up. College Athletes should be paid because it’s like a job and needs to be treated like one.
College Athletes risk their bodies every day to perform at the highest level they can. According to a study, 90% of student-athletes report some sort of sports-related injury. In the article “Student-Athletes”, the author states, “Statistics reveal that 90 PERCENT of student-athletes report some sort of sports-related injury. 54 PERCENT of the student-athletes report they have played while injured.” (Student-Athletes). This can further prove that these athletes give everything they have, but they get no reward. They play their hearts out to the point of playing through injury all while attending school and work. Sports like football and basketball can see horrific injuries happen to the players, but the NCAA doesn’t do anything about that. They could have an ACL tear and not be able to get out of bed for a certain amount of time. How do they work? How do they attend school? Things like this should be addressed and stressed because those are things they couldn’t control. After risking their bodies for the NCAA to make money and continue their business, they still can’t pay their players.
College Athletics take up a lot of time only to be making someone else billions while make nothing. According to USA Today, the NCAA had revenue of $1.1 Billion from 2017 NCAA college sporting events. In the article “College Athletes Should Get Paid” by Justin Reyes, the author states, “Imagine working for countless hours, six days a week, then putting on multiple performances just so someone else can be paid billions.” (Reyes). The NCAA is making more than enough money while these players are earning next to nothing. They can’t even make money off their jerseys, names in games, and other things that pro athletes are able to do. The NCAA doesn’t even have to pay them, but allow them to make money other ways instead of having strict rules like no money from Youtube or Twitch, or anything of that nature. The NCAA is making millions and billions of dollars off of how these players play and affect their ratings, but the players don’t get any of it after dictating what the NCAA makes?
The NCAA classifies these players as amateurs, not professionals. They classify these players as amateurs, not professionals and this is how they get away with not paying them. In the article “Should College Football Players Get Paid” by Michael Gonchar, the author states, “The N.C.A.A. classifies Division I football players as amateurs, not professionals, student-athletes, not employees, which is how colleges get away with paying them nothing.” (Gonchar). This is completely unfair because coming out of high school, they are classified as an adult if you’re 18. Once they become an adult and get to play at the next level, they should be considered a “professional”. After working hard in high school and being able to play college football, these players shouldn’t be considered just amateurs. College Athletes should be defined as professionals after putting their body, mind, and life to the game.
Some might say that college athletes should not be paid and it’s “extracurricular”. Yes, while it might be extracurricular, most of these players have dreams of playing at the next level in the NFL. To get to the NFL, they have to play college football to get recognized and make sure they can play at the next level. Why would these players play football in college for fun? They want to play at the highest level possible at the NFL, but they have to go through college first.
College Athletes should be paid because it’s like a job and needs to be treated like one. College Athletes risk their bodies to play the games they love and to move on to the next level. They don’t consider them professionals, but after high school, they’re adults and it’s like a job with how much time it takes up. Why should the NCAA be able to profit off these players if they can’t even profit off themselves?