Paying College Athletes.

A huge debate has been going on about whether or not college athletes should be paid for their contributions to the respected university.I had a different view of this until recently I found out that student athletes we not allowed to have jobs during their time at a university.

Sport enthusiasts favoring the idea of paying student-athletes argue that student-athletes should be paid, in light of the huge revenues they have generated for the colleges and universities. They also believe that paying student-athletes would alleviate problems related to illegal payments and point shaving. Paying student-athletes would provide athletes an incentive to stay in school and complete their degree programs, instead of leaving early for the professional leagues.

On the other hand:
Student-athletes already are richly compensated. When athletes accept scholarships, they are provided tuition, books, meals, housing, and sometimes graduate assistantships. At some colleges and universities, such support may reach a value of $200,000 or more over a four-year period. Student-athletes may also receive special treatment when it comes to academic issues, for example priority scheduling, tutoring assistance, and excused absences.

Both are reasonable points, the thing that sways my opinion to allow compensation is the fact that college athletes are putting their bodies on the line for the university. The colleges are getting rich off of young adults who are in the same amount of danger as their professional counterparts. Video games, jerseys, any college products that include players are exploiting them for their own monetary gain.

There is also the subject of importance to the university. The University of Tennessee makes most of its sports money from football and basketball, so if a sweeping student athlete compensation package came, where would that leave women's softball or track and field? There isn't going to be an easy and probably not a fair way to do it. This doesn't change the fact that it needs to be done.

I don't have a solution, and I am glad I'm not tasked with coming up with one. The things college athletes do for their university cannot be ignored. With so many college sports being played, and so much revenue being generated, this issue will not be resolved quickly or easily.