The debate of whether or not student athletes should be paid has been tossed around the NCAA for many years now, but a conclusion has never been met. Many would agree that college level sports are very intense and time demanding, which allows for little life outside of the sport and school combined. In addition, any free time athletes have they typically spend resting because they are so physically and mentally exhausted. Thus, there is not much extra time for student athletes to have a job of any sort. But what if student athletes need extra money for things such as food, clothes, living spaces, extracurricular activities, gas, etc.? Typically the answer is not “of course you can miss practice for your job,” it’s “you better be at practice or you’re off the team.” As a student athlete, I have seen this be an issue for athletes, which is why collegiate student athletes should be compensated in some way in return for playing sports at such a high level.
If athletes were to be compensated, there would be many factors that would play into it such as how much money is granted to those on or off scholarship, there would have to be a fixed amount so that men and women would be treated equally, and the amount of money given would be allowed to change based on how much money the University has. Changing NCAA rules so that student athletes could get paid would take a very long time to enact fully, however, it would benefit each athlete that puts in numerous hours of work each day in order to perform at a level that benefits the school and the NCAA.
If athletes were to be compensated, there would be many factors that would play into it such as how much money is granted to those on or off scholarship, there would have to be a fixed amount so that men and women would be treated equally, and the amount of money given would be allowed to change based on how much money the University has. Changing NCAA rules so that student athletes could get paid would take a very long time to enact fully, however, it would benefit each athlete that puts in numerous hours of work each day in order to perform at a level that benefits the school and the NCAA.