I think ever since when we were kids we all had a passion for a particular sport and some of us even aspired to see ourselves in the field. Sports Industry is one of the most booming industries in almost every part of the world as compared to olden times. Each player today is getting the deserved attention, recognition, and even monetary benefits that they deserve. College athletics is one of the most popular co-curricular activities in most colleges and the students can participate in a sport that they are good at. Let us know, “Do Colleges Pay Have Enough Money To Pay Athletes?”
Before looking at the aspect of whether Colleges Pay Have Enough Money To Pay Athletes it is important to know if athletes are getting paid or not, let us understand the term who are actually college athletes.
Who are college athletes?
In simple terms, college athletes are those people who represent their college in various competitions. These competitions consist of inter-college, state level, and national levels. In the USA actually, the part where sports is the most discussed topic, the fact that whether these Colleges Pay Have Enough Money To Pay Athletes or whether they should be paid or not is still questionable. So, technical colleges are not allowed to pay college athletes due to NCAA(National Collegiate Athlete Association) rules and regulations. NCAA already provides enough benefits to them like scholarships and earlier felt that a separate salary is not required to be paid to them because they are not working professionals. Currently, NCAA has more than 19000 teams and around 57,661 participants competing against its opponents.
New rules and regulations
In the year 2021, the matter of the college athletes getting paid became a legal requirement as the supreme court felt that NCAA violated the anti-trust laws and stated that it cannot bar the payments of the student-athletes. Thus due to this new rules and regulations were introduced. According to new rules and regulations, college athletes will continue to play for free, but under new regulations, the athletes will be allowed to make public appearances, enter into agency contracts and even appear in adverts. In July 2021 Fireworks store Lowa Boomin welcomed the world’s best 3 pt shooter Jordan Bohannon. Now under new rules and regulations, there are few things that won’t change such as;
- Having the leverage to choose the college of their own
- If there is any deal that needs to be signed that directly or indirectly competes with pre-existing university deal, such a decision will be taken by the college itself
- Athletes shall use their own name to endorse a brand, university logo, or its name is strictly prohibited to be used.
Opinions
But in my personal opinion, the requirement of payment to the athletes especially under the college’s name is not really necessary, considering that an athlete has enough power within to make money for himself in his own name because by the time they are out of college they have already created a brand name for themselves suitable enough to earn on their own. There is another side of it too, that if we look at a greater perspective athletes work blood and sweat to win the game and get the ball in their league, and sometimes giving them plain benefits is not fair because numerable hours get into practicing and making their hands perfect in the game. This becomes the opportunity cost for the student-athletes and thus the time lost in return for gaining nothing is something that should be compensated for or looked at carefully. The sports industry in the USA is worth 14 billion dollars. Currently, the athletes are looking at smaller deals for the business but the rules of the NCAA vary from university to university and have brought in a lot of chaos for the colleges regarding how they should implement them.
What will be the role of players now?
Well for the most part it won’t be just the basketball players or football players minting money but players from other sports will be given the undivided attention that they deserve. Even though the athletes will not be directly paid by the college but they can now do so with their public appearances on social media. The players will now finally get the appropriate amount of recognition that they deserve.
Weighing the advantages and disadvantages of paying the college athletes
Advantages
- Motivation- Since the students are already getting scholarships and other benefits, and now even in monetary terms will encourage them to work even harder towards winning the game.
- The solution to less advantaged families- The monetary benefit can not only benefit the athletes but it can also become a support system for the family
- Financially Independent- The students can become financially independent by earning at a younger age while studying
Disadvantages
- Double the amount of practice- Since now the athletes will be allowed to make public appearances, the pressure of being absolutely perfect in the game that they are playing and winning it will increase
- Staying away from controversies- The athletes need to stay away from controversies because no brand likes to be dragged into unnecessary court cases and public complications
- Focus on sports rather than education- The student-athletes now will not have enough time to focus on their education as their attention will be diverted completely towards sports, thereby giving them less time to focus on their education.
FAQs
Q1. What is the NCAA?
NCAA is a nonprofit organization that regulates student-athletes.
Q2. What is the age limit?
There is absolutely no age limit but the division 1 athletes can enroll in only one student calendar year after high school graduation.
Q3. What is the eligibility for division 1 or 2 athletes?
The students need to be NCAA certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center to compete at an NCAA Division 1 or 2 schools.
Q4. Can colleges still pay their student-athletes even if the NCAA does not allow it?
No colleges cannot pay the athletes against the rules of the NCAA and if they are required to do so prior permission is required from NCAA.
Q5. What will be athletes doing under new rules and regulations?
Athletes, however, won’t be getting paid by the colleges but now these athletes can earn money through side business in their own name and as athletes through brand endorsements on social media which was earlier barred by the NCAA.
