Paying College Student-Athletes: The Background

Paying Collegiate Athletes

The discussions surrounding student-athletes and whether they deserve to be fairly compensated for their athletic achievements through their school has been long and circular in nature. Many people say that athletes should be paid, mainly because the schools themselves are profiting off them in the form of endorsements, tv and radio deals, donors, and ticket sales for athletic events, while others say that the scholarships that many of the athletes receive should be enough compensation and that they are students first. I am interested in writing about and researching this topic because the knowledge I have now is limited, and I would like to increase it and see both sides. While the NCAA has a point in saying that student-athletes are students first and amateur athletes second, I think athletes who have been born with the talent to exceed in their sport deserve to be fairly compensated for it, whether it is the school, conference, or NCAA paying them, or through endorsements or sponsorships from external sources.