Take a Side: College Athletes Should be Paid

With the chance to claim a national title also came $3.5 million from the BCS directly to Texas and another $14.9 million distributed among the Big 12 conference teams.The higher-ups at the school had reason to smile much earlier – as soon as the BCS announced that Texas would participate, in fact.

The problem is, the athletes who help schools and conferences make that money do not see a dime of it. They may receive scholarships, but so do students who don't help the school make money in any way. Players should get a stipend on top of their scholarships so that they see some of the money they helped the school make. If schools can profit off of student athletes, why should those athletes not be paid for helping schools make money?

Obviously, there are questions about who should get paid and which sports should get precedence, but first, the NCAA must decide to pay the players. Only after that fundamental decision is made can the distribution matter be resolved.

In addition to profits earned from the games themselves, school officials also make money by marketing their players. J.J. Redick and Adam Morrison jerseys are sold all over the country. The shirts may not have names on the back of them, but anyone buying a number four Duke or number three Gonzaga jersey knows who that shirt represents. However, Morrison and Redick do not make a cent from people buying their jerseys because they have to protect their amateur status.

School officials, however, have no problem exploiting well known players to make money for themselves. Technically, the number on a college basketball or football jersey is supposed to represent the whole team, not an individual. If a person goes to buy a Duke shirt, though, the only choice offered is number four, which is, of course, Redick’s. Duke officials do not mind profiting from the use Redick's number, but he makes no money from his jersey sales.The same thing happens with college football and basketball video games. The numbers are supposed to be random, but most of the numbers in the game are the same as the athletes on the different teams. People buy the games knowing that they can be their favorite players because the numbers will match up with the stars of the team. Millions of dollars are made off of video game and jersey sales every year. The players who market those products with their play on the courts and fields do not see any money from the marketing opportunities they create.

Paying the players would also help improve the quality of play in the major college sports, especially basketball. Student athletes, who are not ready, make the leap to pro basketball every year. The allure of professional money causes many players to ruin their basketball careers.

They jump before they are ready and then end up riding the bench in the NBA.

If college basketball players were paid, it might keep those borderline NBA players in college. They could develop the shooting and defensive skills needed at the NBA level and still get paid to do it. Players would be more ready when they enter the draft. It would also improve the college game because players who are borderline NBA talents would stay longer. Student athletes would be better prepared for the NBA, and they would still get paid to play.

Paying players would mostly help college basketball; however, it would also help football and baseball. In football, where players cannot enter the draft until three after high school, more athletes would stay for that extra year if they were getting paid for it. In baseball, it would get more players to go to college instead of skipping that step for a minor league contract.

It is not right that schools make money off of players and then the players see none of it. Paying them would improve quality of play by keeping borderline professional athletes in college. Also, it would help those same players develop their skills so they could make more money at the professional level.

Vince Young will make millions in the NFL, but while in college, he saw none of the money he helped the University of Texas make with his incredible play on the field. It would have been nice to pay him back for the enjoyment he gave the millions of fans who watched his amazing performance in the title game.