Should college athletes in the money sports get paid?

Yes. In 39 states, the highest paid employee is a football or basketball coach. Alabama gives their college coach $7.09 million per year.

Those are some fine educational “values”, America.

In a radio interview, the Northwestern coach ($3.2 million/year) had the gall to come out against paying the students because it would sully the “amateur integrity” of the sport.

The interviewer should have cock-punched him.

In a radio interview, the Northwestern coach ($3.2 million/year) had the gall to come out against paying the students because it would sully the “amateur integrity” of the sport.
They did that with portions of the Olympics without hardly batting an eye.

@Hypocrisy_Central I wasn’t aware the Olympic athletes got paid.

How about if the NFL would stop using colleges and universities as a “farm” or minor league?

Money should not be a part of sport. No one should be paid and colleges should be about education not sport. That would be a good way to make tuition cheaper.

@Love_my_doggie Well, there is a rule now that says that NFL and NCAA players have to go to college. The excuse is that it’s to further their academics. The real reason is so the NCAA can get their free pound of flesh from the athletes.

Yes. If people are making money from their skill and efforts, then yes, they should be paid fairly.

Ideally the sports should be separate from Universities. But people are so proud of their school. I live on campus and I see Duck stickers or flags on 5 percent of the cars that drive by. And lot more branded Ducks clothing than I am comfortable with.

We do have have a minor league baseball team too but nobody gives a fuck.

Autzen Stadium seats 54,000. The population of Eugene is 160,000. And yet it sells out every football game. And this is a hippie town were the majority don’t give a single fuck about concussion-ball except the few that live around campus.

So tons of people are flying and driving in for each game out of some loyalty to the dumb school they went too. You can’t do that with a minor league team.

And they should be paid. We should also agree that nobody cares about their education. That is why most get garbage degrees. I’m looking at you sociology.

Do we then give Pee Wee footballers an allowance?

From what I understand football and other sports lose money. Only about ten schools are in the black with their football teams. Where is the money coming from to pay them? Don’t a bunch of them get free tuition? That is worth money.

@JLeslie They make a godawful amount of money from television. And, as @Call_Me_Jay pointe out, by far the highest paid public employees in almost all states is an athletic coach at a state funded University or College.

And, at many schools the student athletes are not earning their degrees because if they concentrate in their studies too much, they get in trouble for not focusing on training and practice.

Student athletes that are asking to be paid aren’t asking for contracts the size of NFL or NBA paychecks. But they do want enough for spending money, since the NCAA doesn’t allow them to work or to get any “gifts” from alums or the school.

Part of me thinks paying athletes tarnishes the purity of the sport, but the reality is that people are getting incredibly rich on the backs of these young men and women. They’re not even allowed to do an endorsement deal with their image. Also some suffer career-ending injuries and have lifelong disabilities as a result without any compensation. John Oliver did a good piece on this last year. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth watching and considering.

@zenvelo That’s what I used to think, then a few moneys ago a jelly linked an article about how only about ten universities are in the black. I didn’t find that article, but I found this one. It sounds like the athletics department isn’t run fiscally well in some universities. I don’t know what the whole truth is for universities across the country.

Well. If the student athlete is on full scholarship, then they ARE getting paid. They get a free college education. (If they take advantage. )

But yes, lots of money is made by college football, basketball, and baseball. And only because of the athletes.

It’s also an audition of sorts for the pros. If the athletes wish to go pro. They get a chance to showcase their skills,to determine their value in the pros. In the process, most are coached, conditioned, and medically cared for by the best.
When they go pro, most can thank their college years for their spot they are selected in that sport’s draft.

There’s little argument that ,after a few years in college , an athlete isn’t usually stronger, better conditioned, better at their craft, smarter, better understanding of the sport etc.

A free college education, and free coaching, conditioning, use of facilities etc. They already get paid.

Endorsements, or injury settlements I would be all for.

But paying them out right isn’t something that I condone.

@MrGrimm888 How do you feel about a high school athlete being REQUIRED to go to college before going to the pros?

^Most are. I think the NBA is the only pro sport that doesn’t have a minimum college requirement.

Most pro teams don’t want a guy who hasn’t been in college.

In the NFL you just couldn’t come in at 18. You’d be killed.
Being in a college program helps you understand the game, and gets you in a pro style weight room.

VERY few are physically gifted enough at 18 to be a pro in any sport. But those that are still need to develop their game.

To accurately answer that question. I support highschool athletes being required to attend college, for a certain time, before going pro.

@MrGrimm888 Yes, they need a good college level certified trainer to oversee the proper steroid mix. Those high school kids never seem to get the right mix.

@MrGrimm888 No, the NBA requires one year of college now. Baseball does not require college, but baseball is not an NCAA money sport. It’s only the NCAA money sports (basketball, football) where the pros require at least a year of college to pay off the NCAA billion dollar sports cartel.

Ah… I know Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James came right in, they changed the rules I guess. It should probably be at least 2 years IMO. The only problem is a possible career changing /ending injury.

They should be supplied with an injury insurance of some sort by their teams.

No, the deal is full scholarship including housing. That is enough. I also think they should be required to complete a degree before being eligible for the draft. If they leave early, they owe the worth of the scholarship back to the school. The school makes an investment in the player. They should have never started letting kids to the NFL before finishing their degree.