
To pay student athletes or not to pay student athletes? That is the question and an inciting one at that.
One of the more recent, high-profile and very public dust-ups on the topic happened via Twitter when two ESPN personalities had a difference of opinion as to whether well wishes or cash would be more comforting to Georgia running back Nick Chubb in the face of a devastating injury and an uncertain future as a football player.
When you put it that plainly, though, the answer feels embarrassingly obvious. A kid has a chance to make millions of dollars doing something he loves if he's in peak physical form, except now his peak physical form is in jeopardy. And so are his millions. So, yeah, cash might be preferable here.
A look at the bigger picture, however, reveals a far more tangled web of questions and complex issues, the surface of which even a month's worth of tweets couldn't scratch. For example, about the cash, how much money is enough money? What would be a fair salary for these student athletes? Is this salary in lieu of tuition, room, board and stipend or in addition to? Will football players be paid more than lacrosse players since football is likely a bigger revenue driver for the school? For that same reason, should more be paid out for men's sports that women's? Will star players be paid more than everyone else on the team?
With such provocative questions on the table, one would think onlookers would be treated to a healthy debate on the topic. Disappointingly, those with the strongest opinions on the matter have proven lazy, rarely rising to anything more than emotional responses to an emotionally charged set of circumstances. Ultimately the sides break down to "I feel like college athletes should get paid because they make millions for their respective schools and they should be compensated" and "A free education is compensation enough."
Unfortunately, the heavier burden lies mostly with those seeking a change to the system. It's as though a ruling has been made on the field, and now they'll need to present enough evidence to overturn the call. That will prove nearly impossible. They'll be trying to mount a campaign against the "college degree as cure-all" rhetoric that is part of the very fabric of our society. For years, the NCAA has been pitching America on the idea that no greater opportunity can be afforded a student athlete than that of a free college education. And not just them — America never stops selling America on the value of an education. Our current president believes educating our youth to be the best investment we can make in our future.
It's hard to ignore the racial and socioeconomic matters at hand in the pay-for-play argument. The call for wages in college athletics rings loudest when the story line juxtaposes a poor black kid with a struggling family back home who's putting his future earning potential on the line every week and a fat cat conference administrator making a half a million dollars a year while universities rake in obscene amounts of money for participating in a bowl game or going to the Final Four. It's an ugly reality of the college athletics construct for sure, but those who wish to right the ship should be careful of a reliance on such narratives and tread lightly. The questions are weightier down that path.
What systems will be put in place to help a kid who has never been exposed to significant amounts of money manage his finances? If a kid from an underprivileged background leaves college at 22 years old having collected a salary for four years but not having earned a degree and doesn't go pro, will we still celebrate the victory of the salary he was able to earn or mourn the loss of opportunity from the degree that he didn't?
Yes, of course, that happens now without the paycheck or the proverbial pat on the back.
Contrarily, many of the pundits who have the platform to express their feelings about why we should just pay those poor, academically challenged, athletically gifted black kids now without the facade of them being students first are folks who know very well just how fleeting a career as a professional athlete can be. There are the folks who report on the many instances of professional athletes going broke and having nothing to fall back on when their playing days are done. And they are the same folks who go home from their jobs on air to tell their own kids and nieces and nephews and cousins and godchildren how, more than anything else, a college education gives them the best options down the road.
And with that, the questions get tougher and more uncomfortable.
Just what is it about these poor black kids, then, that renders that advice irrelevant? Are these protestations of sympathy nothing more than a thinly veiled lack of expectation and an extension of our society's minimizing of opportunity for Americans who look a certain way and come from certain neighborhoods?
It's easy to start pointing fingers and say that we've known for a long time that many of these kids struggle in school and see sports as their only way out of their poverty. The people advocating for the college athlete as a full-time, paid position may see themselves as do-gooders helping kids who need the money most and logical thinkers who are brave enough to let them off the hook and exist fully in their capitalism.
It's entirely possible, though, that these guys are just the latest in a long line of folks to blame for not encouraging these kids to see their education in all its glorious and long-term potential.
Maybe they're right to want to get our student athletes paid, but at what cost?
Because of Title 9 it will make it a hard issue to cover. A school like Alabama can afford to pay its football players and Women's golf team the same amount while a small school like Toledo can't. Paying student athletes will just widen the gap.
Before you know it smaller schools will be left out all together.
The players in college have amazing amenities and benefits compared to some pro facilities. They are offered extra study halls and free tutors compared to the average student. I feel they get it pretty easy compare to an average student.
Enjoy the free education and the opportunity to do something fun while going to school.
Thanks for taking time to check out the article and for the comment!
Excellent points all around. Sometimes I get the sense that the talking heads are making a bigger deal of this issue than the players. People keep saying the opportunity to earn the degree is useless but I think that is a very limited view of the experience. Every guy I know that went to college on an athletic scholarship has shared stories about the amazing, even if unpaid, internships there were able to snag because of the alumni's relationships with the team. Kids from tough backgrounds who interned at securities firms and tech companies. People forget about the relationships that these guys get to build just through sports as well. How many college kids get to shake hands with and get a pat on the back from Fortune 500 CEOs on Saturdays. That's the type of opportunity that can't be discounted.
Do a quick survey on non-athletes emerging from college with crushing student debt into a job market where they can barely make ends meet in order to pay off said debt for 20 years and ask them how screwed these kids are to get FREE COLLEGE to PLAY A GAME.
It's always easy to feel like a hero when you're talking about someone else's money.
Lol! I appreciate your comment and you taking time to check out this article! :-)
Excellent article. While I agree that some form of compensation should be provided, I am unsure on the amount.
Thank you Alan for the comment and the read! This thing is so complex. It exists wholly and entirely in a grey area. It's tough stuff for sure...
Exactly, I agree all around. So many questions before we can get this thing figured out. Thanks so much for taking time to check it out!
I believe that the student-athletes should be compensated however what is the amount in which they should be paid? Should every athlete get the same amount even if their sport does not bring in the revenue i.e. football/basketball. I do believe that some form of compensation be it a mutual fund or something ...For the Writings say, It is not right to keep the ox from taking the grain when he is crushing it. And, The worker has a right to his reward.
Exactly, I agree all around. So many questions before we can get this thing figured out. Thanks so much for taking time to check it out!
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