It is almost astounding how important college athletics have become in our society today.Whether there be a push to be good on the field so that you can earn a scholarship and gain a free education, or old men of society enjoying a cook-out and drinking a beer in preparation for college football every Saturday, or maybe even succeeding in college sports so that there is an opportunity to complete at the next level: professional sports. College athletes are often times under drastic amounts of pressure, stressed to keep up their grades, and occasionally rushing from the classroom to the job site in order to compensate for themselves. It is because of the strenuous schedule college athletes manage, that few to none have jobs that they can use to provide for themselves in college. How do they eat? What do they use to buy clothes? How do they travel around campus? What if they have to go to the hospital- how do they pay for it? All of these questions can be resolved with one question, “Should college athletes be able to pay for play?”
The debate about whether or not college athletes have earned the right to be paid for their participation in college athletics is one that will go back and forth until the NCAA puts an end to everyone questioning this topic. In this paper, there will be several different perspectives drawn pertaining to the subject, and data and scholarly opinion on the pay of professional athletes will also be put in perspective in reference to the question. Possible violations of Title IX will be brought into the conversation as well as discrimination. The goal of this paper is for the reader to have a better understanding of the lives of college athletes and outsiders looking in, and gain your own opinion on whether or not college athletes should get paid for play.
Zirin, Dave. “An Economist Explains Why College Athletes Should Be Paid.” The Nation. 27 Mar. 2015. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
In this online article “An Economist Explains Why College Athletes Should Be Paid,” Dave Zirin gathers his information from an interview he had with a leading anti-trust economist, Andy Schwarz, who discusses his take on whether or not college athletes should get paid. Kirin doesn’t state the topic as “getting paid,” but rather he titles it “some sort of monetary compensation” (Zirin 1). In response to this, Schwarz claims that the NCAA is conspiring against athletes in a quiet manner and that if they were not doing so, the athletes wold get paid. One reason compensation for college athletes is not in effect, is because many people believe that it is a legal violation against Title IX, and that it would almost destroy women’s sports, when in fact Schwarz states that it isn’t in violation and would not harm women’s sports at all because the money that each sport gets must be proportional to the ratio of athletes that are participating on a given team. On the contrary however, Schwarz believes that several things would happen if “schools were allowed to compete for talent with pay” (Zirin 3). “Coachs’ pay [would] go down… and male athletes’ pay [would] go up,” and in order to keep from violating Title IX, “everytime you increase the male athletes’ pay… under the law [there must be] a matching pay for women” (Zirin 3). According to Schwarz, a transition into paying athletes would take 6-10 years because of the intensity of the subject. However in the mean time, many coaches and schools are doing their best o lure talented athletes in by promising things such as “a nicer locker room, a waterfall in [the] hydrotherapy room, a promise of winning, a greater chance of playing pro” and the list goes on.
Simmons, Rob. “OVERPAID ATHLETES? COMPARING AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN FOOTBALL.” Working USA 10.4 (2007): 457-71. ProQuest. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
Based on behind the scene facts about the salaries of players in American football leagues and those in European football leagues, this article, “Overpaid Athletes? Comparing American and European Football,” by Rob Simmons, provides a detailed understanding of how salaries are issued, what certain claus hold the leagues accountable, and whether or not their pay is overpriced. In America, the only league for professional football is the NFL. Other countries do in fact have their own football leagues such as Canada but Simmons states that those are “regarded as inferior in quality to the NFL” (Simmons 459). A typical salary in the NFL i set up as a contract which contains a basic salary, a signing bonus, and other bonuses. The contracts are then reviewed by the NFL to ensure that they are not in violation of any regulations. On the contrary, a typical European salary is negotiated where “individual bargaining will occur between the club and the player’s representatives,” and the contracts are not reviewed by the high up organization (Simmons 461). In American football, many signing bonuses are only distributed over the duration of the contract however, in European football (soccer) there are bonuses that could be given out at random times such as a “win bonus for winning a match” that are given post win (Simmons 161). Although many believe that athletes in the NFL are extremely overpaid, Simmons argues that “it is likely that many players in the NFL are underpaid rather that overpaid” in comparison to athletes in Europe who are regularly paid in extra bonuses for their performance.
Mogul, Robert G. “Salary Discrimination in Professional Sports.” Atlantic Economic Journal 9.3 (1981): 106-110. ProQuest. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
In this article “Salary Discrimination in Professional Sports” Robert G. Mogull gathers new information based on different studies to answer the awkward and recurring question of “do different races get paid different amounts (whether higher or lower) in professional sports?” As racism has been a problem in society for many years, and still is today, there have been many studies done and report on this particular subject. Mogull states that all of the previous studies conclude that there in fact is no difference in professional athlete salary due to their race. In this article, Mogull does not set out to disprove the other theories like one might assume. Instead he states that “the original conclusions, found individually in each field of athletics, are here reinforced, confirmed, and verified;” each field of athletics meaning baseball, football, and basketball (Mogull 106). Mogull then goes on to review the conclusions of other articles before performing and presenting his own. Mogull’s form of evaluation is the Chow Test which calculates the number of players of each race in each sport, which of each race are veterans or rookies, the exact number of years played, their performances overall as well as statistics of each game, and their salaries to come up with a conclusion. His conclusion clearly stated “the evidence is both clear and strong. Team managements do not racially discriminate in compensating for athletic performance” (Mogull 109). It is noted that the author’s intentions were not driven to discredit others’ hard work, but to compliment them on their findings and support their conclusions with his own evidence or in other words, his own opinion.
Woodburn, David W. “LexisNexis® Academic.” & Library Solutions. Akron Law Review. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.
Workers’ Compensation is a topic and insurance policy for those who are employed by the government typically. However in this article “College Athletes Should be Entitled to Workers’ Compensation for Sports-Related Injuries: A Request to Broaden the Definition of Employee under the Ohio Revised Code Section 4123.01” by David W. Woodburn, a new discussion on whether or not college athletes should be compensated if they are severely injured during performance is researched. Woodburn claims that with all of the stress that Universities put on coaches to be the best, is also being relayed to the athletes as well. When it is added to “the athlete’s own desire to use college athletics” to the best of their interest and possibly pursue careers, many amateur athletes will “overextend himself and suffer injury increases tremendously” (Woodburn 2). The first case that was pro athletes’ compensation was the University of Denver v. Nemeth in which Nemeth suffered a serious of neck injuries from football and believed he still had the right to b compensated for his work that he did around the university in exchange for his athletic participation. Nemeth provided support for this in the end of his case because “collegiate sports injury can be considered as arising out of and in the corse of business,” claims Woodburn (Woodburn 4). Based upon cases like these, Woodburn concludes that “scholarship athletes should be included within the Ohio Workers’ Compensation Act,” and that “scholarship athletes deserve the same statutory protection” because playing on a scholarship at a collegiate level, is a business deal (Woodburn 11).
“Should NCAA Rules be Changed to Allow Intercollegiate Athlete.” Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 66.9 (1995): 10. ProQuest. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
Although it is a scholarly article, it is not in common article form, which is why it gives more perspective on it’s topic. “Should NCAA rules be changed to allow intercollegiate athletes to be paid a salary for participating in sports?” displayed in the Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, multiple responses to the title question were reviewed, edited, and presented together in one article. One review questions that “with cutbacks on private dorms and cafeterias, why can athletes not receive stipend for incidentals” (Journal of Physical 10)? While other responses agreed that athletes should be paid and stated so in their own words, others were either in between opinion or completely against paying college athletes for play. An entry stated “they are in school for an education- or have we forgotten?” arguing that yes, some athletes can afford an education due to an earned scholarship, but athletes should not be paid on top of that to participate in events that do not pertain to the education that college is supposed to be about (Journal of Physical 12). A rebuttal to this claims that athletes’ hard work brings in much profit for a school and that there should be salary benefits for this. Those who are caught in between claim that athletes spend so much time participating in their sport that “their rigorous training schedule does not allow them the opportunity to find a… job” because their sport is their full-time job (Journal of Physical 12).
The debate about whether or not college athletes have earned the right to be paid for their participation in college athletics is one that will go back and forth until the NCAA puts an end to everyone questioning this topic. In this paper, there will be several different perspectives drawn pertaining to the subject, and data and scholarly opinion on the pay of professional athletes will also be put in perspective in reference to the question. Possible violations of Title IX will be brought into the conversation as well as discrimination. The goal of this paper is for the reader to have a better understanding of the lives of college athletes and outsiders looking in, and gain your own opinion on whether or not college athletes should get paid for play.
Zirin, Dave. “An Economist Explains Why College Athletes Should Be Paid.” The Nation. 27 Mar. 2015. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
In this online article “An Economist Explains Why College Athletes Should Be Paid,” Dave Zirin gathers his information from an interview he had with a leading anti-trust economist, Andy Schwarz, who discusses his take on whether or not college athletes should get paid. Kirin doesn’t state the topic as “getting paid,” but rather he titles it “some sort of monetary compensation” (Zirin 1). In response to this, Schwarz claims that the NCAA is conspiring against athletes in a quiet manner and that if they were not doing so, the athletes wold get paid. One reason compensation for college athletes is not in effect, is because many people believe that it is a legal violation against Title IX, and that it would almost destroy women’s sports, when in fact Schwarz states that it isn’t in violation and would not harm women’s sports at all because the money that each sport gets must be proportional to the ratio of athletes that are participating on a given team. On the contrary however, Schwarz believes that several things would happen if “schools were allowed to compete for talent with pay” (Zirin 3). “Coachs’ pay [would] go down… and male athletes’ pay [would] go up,” and in order to keep from violating Title IX, “everytime you increase the male athletes’ pay… under the law [there must be] a matching pay for women” (Zirin 3). According to Schwarz, a transition into paying athletes would take 6-10 years because of the intensity of the subject. However in the mean time, many coaches and schools are doing their best o lure talented athletes in by promising things such as “a nicer locker room, a waterfall in [the] hydrotherapy room, a promise of winning, a greater chance of playing pro” and the list goes on.
Simmons, Rob. “OVERPAID ATHLETES? COMPARING AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN FOOTBALL.” Working USA 10.4 (2007): 457-71. ProQuest. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
Based on behind the scene facts about the salaries of players in American football leagues and those in European football leagues, this article, “Overpaid Athletes? Comparing American and European Football,” by Rob Simmons, provides a detailed understanding of how salaries are issued, what certain claus hold the leagues accountable, and whether or not their pay is overpriced. In America, the only league for professional football is the NFL. Other countries do in fact have their own football leagues such as Canada but Simmons states that those are “regarded as inferior in quality to the NFL” (Simmons 459). A typical salary in the NFL i set up as a contract which contains a basic salary, a signing bonus, and other bonuses. The contracts are then reviewed by the NFL to ensure that they are not in violation of any regulations. On the contrary, a typical European salary is negotiated where “individual bargaining will occur between the club and the player’s representatives,” and the contracts are not reviewed by the high up organization (Simmons 461). In American football, many signing bonuses are only distributed over the duration of the contract however, in European football (soccer) there are bonuses that could be given out at random times such as a “win bonus for winning a match” that are given post win (Simmons 161). Although many believe that athletes in the NFL are extremely overpaid, Simmons argues that “it is likely that many players in the NFL are underpaid rather that overpaid” in comparison to athletes in Europe who are regularly paid in extra bonuses for their performance.
Mogul, Robert G. “Salary Discrimination in Professional Sports.” Atlantic Economic Journal 9.3 (1981): 106-110. ProQuest. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
In this article “Salary Discrimination in Professional Sports” Robert G. Mogull gathers new information based on different studies to answer the awkward and recurring question of “do different races get paid different amounts (whether higher or lower) in professional sports?” As racism has been a problem in society for many years, and still is today, there have been many studies done and report on this particular subject. Mogull states that all of the previous studies conclude that there in fact is no difference in professional athlete salary due to their race. In this article, Mogull does not set out to disprove the other theories like one might assume. Instead he states that “the original conclusions, found individually in each field of athletics, are here reinforced, confirmed, and verified;” each field of athletics meaning baseball, football, and basketball (Mogull 106). Mogull then goes on to review the conclusions of other articles before performing and presenting his own. Mogull’s form of evaluation is the Chow Test which calculates the number of players of each race in each sport, which of each race are veterans or rookies, the exact number of years played, their performances overall as well as statistics of each game, and their salaries to come up with a conclusion. His conclusion clearly stated “the evidence is both clear and strong. Team managements do not racially discriminate in compensating for athletic performance” (Mogull 109). It is noted that the author’s intentions were not driven to discredit others’ hard work, but to compliment them on their findings and support their conclusions with his own evidence or in other words, his own opinion.
Woodburn, David W. “LexisNexis® Academic.” & Library Solutions. Akron Law Review. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.
Workers’ Compensation is a topic and insurance policy for those who are employed by the government typically. However in this article “College Athletes Should be Entitled to Workers’ Compensation for Sports-Related Injuries: A Request to Broaden the Definition of Employee under the Ohio Revised Code Section 4123.01” by David W. Woodburn, a new discussion on whether or not college athletes should be compensated if they are severely injured during performance is researched. Woodburn claims that with all of the stress that Universities put on coaches to be the best, is also being relayed to the athletes as well. When it is added to “the athlete’s own desire to use college athletics” to the best of their interest and possibly pursue careers, many amateur athletes will “overextend himself and suffer injury increases tremendously” (Woodburn 2). The first case that was pro athletes’ compensation was the University of Denver v. Nemeth in which Nemeth suffered a serious of neck injuries from football and believed he still had the right to b compensated for his work that he did around the university in exchange for his athletic participation. Nemeth provided support for this in the end of his case because “collegiate sports injury can be considered as arising out of and in the corse of business,” claims Woodburn (Woodburn 4). Based upon cases like these, Woodburn concludes that “scholarship athletes should be included within the Ohio Workers’ Compensation Act,” and that “scholarship athletes deserve the same statutory protection” because playing on a scholarship at a collegiate level, is a business deal (Woodburn 11).
“Should NCAA Rules be Changed to Allow Intercollegiate Athlete.” Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 66.9 (1995): 10. ProQuest. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
Although it is a scholarly article, it is not in common article form, which is why it gives more perspective on it’s topic. “Should NCAA rules be changed to allow intercollegiate athletes to be paid a salary for participating in sports?” displayed in the Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, multiple responses to the title question were reviewed, edited, and presented together in one article. One review questions that “with cutbacks on private dorms and cafeterias, why can athletes not receive stipend for incidentals” (Journal of Physical 10)? While other responses agreed that athletes should be paid and stated so in their own words, others were either in between opinion or completely against paying college athletes for play. An entry stated “they are in school for an education- or have we forgotten?” arguing that yes, some athletes can afford an education due to an earned scholarship, but athletes should not be paid on top of that to participate in events that do not pertain to the education that college is supposed to be about (Journal of Physical 12). A rebuttal to this claims that athletes’ hard work brings in much profit for a school and that there should be salary benefits for this. Those who are caught in between claim that athletes spend so much time participating in their sport that “their rigorous training schedule does not allow them the opportunity to find a… job” because their sport is their full-time job (Journal of Physical 12).