College athletes are the among the most important in all of American sports.
These amateurs are the primers for the success of multi-billion dollar sports leagues.
College athletes should get paid and receive compensation based off of their likeness because their schools and the NCAA generate large revenue from student-athletes and their talents.
Student-athletes are unpaid and undervalued for the hard work and dedication that results in the NCAA generating billions of dollars in revenue while promoting the notoriety and prestige of select universities.
In 2019, ticket prices for the rivalry game between The University of North Carolina and Duke University at Cameron Indoor Stadium soared above $2,000.
The only other ticket to sell for more than $2,000 for a sporting event is the Super Bowl.
Universities and the NCAA relish in the proceeds and publicity while the athletes involved receive nothing.
The NCAA website states that they generate about $820 million annually from marketing and television rights for the “March Madness” tournament and around $130 million from ticket sales.
Without student-athletes, the schools and NCAA would not receive the large amounts of revenue that they do in the first place.
The NCAA receives additional revenue by selling jerseys and other merchandise. Merchandise sells due to the performance and success of the athletes themselves, yet the student receives none of that revenue on the sale of their own jersey number.
Student performances and their likeness are the sole reason for the sale, and they deserve some form of monetary compensation.
NCAA’s website states that 56 percent of all student-athletes receive some level of athletics aid.
That percentage is too low considering the money the student-athletes spend relating to their hard work and dedication. Busy training and traveling schedules also make it difficult to assist these expenses with part-time work.
100 percent of all student-athletes should receive athletic financial aid, regardless of the sport.
It is only right that they deserve full and fair compensation for their commitment.
While schools cannot fork out millions of dollars to the top athletes, we need to adapt the way that college athletes are restricted from gaining an income from their own performance, image and efforts.
By doing so, the NCAA can make their way towards eliminating the pay-for-play schemes and under-the-table deals that prestigious universities, businesses and top recruits engage in.
ESPN online reports that in October 2018, a judge convicted three defendants accused of paying high-profile recruits coming out of high school to influence their decision to attend Kansas, Louisville and NC State.
On Tuesday, ESPN reports Adidas executive James Gatto was sentenced to 9 months, former Adidas consultant Merl Code was sentenced 6 months and aspiring sports business manager Christian Dawkins was sentenced to 6 months in federal prison “for funneling money from adidas to the families of high-profile recruits.”
By lifting the restrictions and bans on pay for student-athletes, deals and transactions could happen with transparency driving away many of the shady elements of college sports to better protect the athletes’ best interests.
In an industry that generates so much revenue it only makes sense that everyone involved gets a slice of the pie— especially the most vital people involved.
