Pros and Cons: The Debate About Paying College Athletes
Each year college sports earn hundreds of millions of dollars for their schools Student athletes are the reason colleges take in all this money If athletes didn't play there would be no ticket sales TV stations would have no college games to broadcast Currently many college athletes receive free tuition But they do not share in the money that their colleges earn from the games This has led to a heated debate Should college athletes be paid for playing Some people believe it's only fair that student athletes receive a share of the money they helped generate Others think paying college athletes would interfere with the athletes schooling Many groups are involved in this debate including athletes coaches and colleges The owners of TV stations and sporting goods companies have opinions too Another group
In 2015 47 percent of people in the United States followed college sports involved in the debate is the National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA The NCAA is the organization in charge of college sports in the United States It writes and enforces the rules for each sport The issue of paying college athletes is complex The stakes are high for all who are involved Both sides have strong arguments for their views
CHAPTER 2 PRO ATHLETES DESERVE A PORTION OF THE MONEY THEY GENERATE The money that athletes generate for their colleges comes from several sources Ticket sales for games bring in money Fans also buy merchandise such as team shirts and other products with team names and logos on them In addition alumni donate money to the sports programs of the colleges they once attended TV stations pay colleges large sums of money to broadcast games One example is basketball The top Division I basketball teams in the NCAA compete in the March Madness tournament
