Should we pay college athletes? If so, how much?
Noted financial writer Joe Nocera has a compelling piece in The New York Times recommending that colleges pay athletes. It is a lengthy piece worth reading.
My older brother played college basketball, and I saw firsthand the challenges of balancing tournaments at Madison Square Garden with schoolwork. He never slept.
My family has been stuck in small airports where female sports teams were also awaiting delayed flights. One was the University of Virginia golf team, and the other was the University of Florida soccer team.
In both cases, we were impressed to see these athletes sitting on the floor reading, working on term papers and doing math. I pointed out to my kids that college athletes aren’t off the hook for their schoolwork just because they have to fly to a game. We ended up chatting with a Florida soccer player who told us that she also held a part-time job in addition to soccer and a prelaw major. I doubt she got much sleep, either.
Given the demands on college athletes, I think Nocera’s ideas to pay them merit consideration.
Among his points:
The hypocrisy that permeates big-money college sports takes your breath away. College football and men’s basketball have become such huge commercial enterprises that together they generate more than $6 billion in annual revenue, more than the National Basketball Association. A top college coach can make as much or more than a professional coach; Ohio State just agreed to pay Urban Meyer $24 million over six years. Powerful conferences like the S.E.C. and the Pac 12 have signed lucrative TV deals, while the Big 10 and the University of Texas have created their own sports networks. Companies like Coors and Chick-fil-A eagerly toss millions in marketing dollars at college sports. Last year, Turner Broadcasting and CBS signed a 14-year, $10.8 billion deal for the television rights to the N.C.A.A.’s men’s basketball national championship tournament (a k a “March Madness”). And what does the labor force that makes it possible for coaches to earn millions, and causes marketers to spend billions, get? Nothing. The workers are supposed to be content with a scholarship that does not even cover the full cost of attending college. Any student athlete who accepts an unapproved, free hamburger from a coach, or even a fan, is in violation of N.C.A.A. rules.
Players aren’t stupid. They look around and see jerseys with their names on them being sold in the bookstores. They see 100,000 people in the stands on a Saturday afternoon. During the season, they can end up putting in 50-hour weeks at their sports, and they learn early on not to take any course that might require real effort or interfere with the primary reason they are on campus: to play football or basketball. The N.C.A.A. can piously define them as students first, but the players know better. They know they are making money for the athletic department. The N.C.A.A.’s often-stated contention that it is protecting the players from “excessive commercialism” is ludicrous; the only thing it’s protecting is everyone else’s revenue stream. (The N.C.A.A. itself takes in nearly $800 million a year, mostly from its March Madness TV contracts.) “Athletes in football and basketball feel unfairly treated,” Leigh Steinberg, a prominent sports agent, says. “The dominant attitude among players is that there is no moral or ethical reason not to take money, because the system is ripping them off.”
After several months researching the issue, Nocera says he came up with a five-element plan to pay college athletes. The elements are:
A modified free-market approach to recruiting college players.
A salary cap for every team, along with a minimum annual salary for every scholarship athlete. The salary caps I have in mind are pretty low, all things considered: $3 million for the salaries for the football team, and $650,000 for basketball, with a minimum salary of $25,000 per athlete.
Every player who stays in school for four years would also get an additional two-year scholarship, which he could use either to complete his bachelor’s or get a master’s degree.
Each player would have lifetime health insurance.
An organization would be created to represent both current and former college athletes. It may well turn out to be that this body takes on the form of a players’ union, since a salary cap is illegal under antitrust law unless it is part of a collective-bargaining agreement. (That’s why most professional sports leagues embrace players’ unions.)
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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85 comments Add your comment
Tony
January 3rd, 2012
10:53 am
This is one of the best examples of how mixed up the priorities of our society have become. Athletics dominates. Forget academics. What happened in Rome?
Pay Up
January 3rd, 2012
10:59 am
Big time college athletes generate millions for their schools and should get paid good money during the season–at least $2,000 per month.
Seriously
January 3rd, 2012
11:07 am
I am incensed by the very thought of paying a college athlete for doing something they choose to do. Isn’t it enough they obtain scholarship funds? . As an educator, I cannot express how much, too much, emphasis is placed on FOOTBALL. It does not even appear that the season ever ends. Our school calendar, exams and various other school situations revolve around this sport. Not to mention the many low-level students that win football college scholarships but hardly can pass a British Literature course without constant and on-going assistance. This sport had dominated our schools to the point of pushing other sports to the sidelines. At the end of a season, simply compare a football banquet to that of any other sport and you will see the vast difference in priority placement. Go to any high school and listen to the morning announcements: enthusiasm for football over-bound and mediocre to less enthusiasm for, let’ say, cross country track. Why?. The South has to change!!! Now. let’s talk economics. How much money is placed in the football arena on the high school and college arena. Of course, the debate will revolve around how much funding is brought in by the game, but again, I ask—What’s wrong with this picture? We place these men on pedestals and too often they fall. And ladies, stop being a cheerleader for these players until the men come out to cheer you on the basketball court. UNBALANCED AND UNFAIR—No, do not pay anyone that chooses to play; it is bad enough they often receive scholarships that should be going to students that have excelled in academics–the true meaning of education.
Ron Burgundy
January 3rd, 2012
11:13 am
Why would colleges pay kids? It would not make a difference on illegal infractions. I am for a small amount for spending money but nothing esle. Why change collee football? It sells out 90k stadiums against Ham N Egger U. What incentive is it for schools to pay?
Really amazed
January 3rd, 2012
11:14 am
THEY ARE BEING PAID. THEY ARE RECEIVING A FULL RIDE SCHOLORSHIP! Many of them wouldn’t even be able to attend because most are only there for their athletic ablility not academic! College is suppose to be for receiving an education in an academic major. If that were the case why not pay the music/band/ student pay as well. These students that are there on scholorships are already getting paid!!!!! It’s called tuition, room and board book allowances.
johnny too good
January 3rd, 2012
11:16 am
yes they should be paid
unless you are or have been a college athlete you are not credible to speak on this issue. it is very difficult to assess a situation you’ve never been in
Don
January 3rd, 2012
11:21 am
No. Not a full ride. Just four years of tuition. Most can’t take and pass a degree’s worth of courses with their “full time” football obligations in the four years they get.
They should get a true “full ride”. They should be able to attend as long as it takes to complete a degree as long they are full time students – no matter how long it takes – no matter if they do it over a contiguous period or not.
The schools that “rent” these athletes have an obligation to provide a full education, not just a smattering of semi-useless courses designed to keep the academically eligible for their four years of scholarship. No matter how long it takes….
johnny too good
January 3rd, 2012
11:22 am
athletes dont need 25k, but a small stipend of less than 5k is completely necessary……….. there is no reason athletes with a “full ride” should have student loans
The Mole
January 3rd, 2012
11:22 am
I was lucky my parents could afford to give me a few dollars when I was in college. We were not allowed to have jobs and the only way to make a little money was to sell your tickets. Now that is illegal. There were many kids who did not have a dime. We would lend clothes and buy pizza on a weekend and never said a word.It would not hurt to give these players $200.00 a month.Let them live like the kids on reg. scholarsship and have part time jobs.
Inman Park Boy
January 3rd, 2012
11:26 am
Well gee, they ARE paid. I have a son in college, and his semester tuition is around $4000.00; then you add on books, room and board, and you’re paying around $18K to $20K a year for a public school. He spent one year at a private college, and the bill was in excess of $30,000.00. So, now you want athletes to get “paid.” Seems to me thay have a sweet deal already, as do their parents. I say if they are “paid” to play sports, then they should have to pay all other fees like any other student. What will that gain them? Silly.
Frustrated
January 3rd, 2012
11:41 am
Really? Why can’t the athletes take out a student loan, just like every other poor college student? I’m sorry, its hard when they are “working” or playing ball 50 hours a week.. but you know what else is hard? Working 50 hours a week, with two majors, and enough student loans you’ll be paying off for the rest of your life, not to mention there is absolutely no guarantee you will have a job when you graduate. But wait, some of these athletes have the tough decision to either stay in school, or enter a draft? And you want to pay them $25,000 a year on top of this? Some graduates would kill for a real job that pays $25,000. And please, so many of these athletes get the free meal plans, free housing, etc. What do they need the money for? They are already given the essentials. If they want more, take out a student loan, just like everyone else.
PMC
January 3rd, 2012
11:42 am
They ARE paid marketing embassadors already. They are professional marketers for thier institions.
What needs to happen is to let them be able to get jobs in the offseason, they should be allowed to trade on thier own names and likenesses and thier scholarships should be guaranteed for 4 full years.
Schools just need to stop acting like they own the athletes.
It’s absolutely ridiculous they can’t trade on thier own names and likenesses.
That’s fair for every sport and gender.
How Incredibly Depressing
January 3rd, 2012
11:43 am
Has our society really come to this? Academics are a joke, athletics are everything….why not just excuse the “student” atheletes completely from having to go to school.
After all it’s not like universities are institutions of learning…right? Right?
Former College Athlete
January 3rd, 2012
11:46 am
Many of you do not know this, but NCAA limits the amount of scholarships available in each sport. The only programs that fully see the full amount of scholarships that are allowed are the huge schools that play at the major level (SEC, ACC, and etc.). Smaller schools can not afford the scholarships and the student-athletes are actually dealt a worse hand because they are athletes. Yes, it is a choice to play college athletics, however the general public needs to realize that there are only a few rare cases that students have a full scholarship. Unless your a freak of nature on the playing field, you will not get a full athletic scholarship. I played on a Division I baseball team and we only had 4, yes 4, full scholarships for a team of 40 student-athletes. Most have to do well in school to get the academic money to play. Please be educated on this topic before commenting. On our away trips, we would be gone for an extended time and our student-athletes would break curfew many times. Not for what you would imagine, but for finishing papers and projects in a common area with fellow student-athletes.
Dr, Don
January 3rd, 2012
11:47 am
Let the NFL and NBA pay for minor league teams. If a HS athlete wants to play ball, go to the minor leagues and leave the colleges out of it. Universities have become whores – kids who have no business in college are being treated like royalty. If colleges must sponsor sports then stop all recruiting – let kids go to college where they want. If all basketball players want to go to Duke, let them. If none want to go to UGA, so be it. Education of qualified students should be the business of colleges. Period.
FalconFreak
January 3rd, 2012
11:49 am
There not paid? Who says? What happened to the golden handshake? What about the free cars? and girls?
Bro
January 3rd, 2012
11:50 am
It is time to limit the amount of time a coaching staff can force “STUDENT ATHLETES” to practice. More than two hours a day is a job. Remember this is a scholarship position. Payment to athletes should be no more than that paid to any other student. If you can not make the grades and play than you don’t deserve the spot you are taking from other students. Also, every student at the school should be given the same opportunity for meals, medical care and anything else provided to “student athletes” If you can not do this, then quit playing games and make this a true business. Hire football players and not students. Paying athletes is a violation of everything sacred to education.
,
redweather
January 3rd, 2012
11:58 am
A sports scholarship should be enough.
dawgfan
January 3rd, 2012
11:58 am
If other people weren’t making hundreds of millions of dollars off of them I would say not pay them, but that isn’t the case. The argument that a scholarship is enough ignores reality. Big time college football generates millions upon millions of dollars for corporate fat cats while the players risk life and limb on the field. If you have a problem with that blame all the college administrators that let it happen. Don’t blame the football players.
And I can guarantee you that the average D-1 football player works harder than most of you will ever work in your entire lives.
Thanks.
maharaji
January 3rd, 2012
12:01 pm
You weenie liberals make me sick….that student is busting his hump and bringing in millions of dollars that actually fund a majority of the worhtless research that is conducted in order to find the actual valuable research that is used.
THIS IS NOT A COMMUNIST COUNTRY. We don’t pay athletes now cause the title 9 weenies would be out in full force demanding the girl’s volleyball team be paid as much as the football players.
Yes, I am also sad that society has come to this….the blind leading the blind, all with an internet connection.
Sounds like Mr. Nocera...
January 3rd, 2012
12:08 pm
…was a member of “Occupy Wall Street” – he has really no clue about that which he writes, only what he has heard…
PMC
January 3rd, 2012
12:13 pm
The idea of scholarships for marketing purposes (Athletics) is probably a whole other discussion altoegther.
CDJ
January 3rd, 2012
12:14 pm
March Madness alone generates over $600 million (annually) simply from its television contract. I attended a big-time football ACC school and was informed by an “agent of the program” that by the end of the first quarter of every (first) home game each year, the program generates enough revenue to pay for every scholarship it will award the next year. The money is real people.
For the people who “choose” to go to a 9-to-5 job every day … how would you feel if your labor rights were stripped and the value and terms of your employment were dictated to you, no questions asked? Want to get a lawyer to look over those forms … nope … that’s not allowed. Some might contend that if these athletes are so good, why don’t they just go pro? …. nope … the terms of engagement say you gotta wait before you can offer your services to the NBA-NFL cartels. And the sham just keeps going.
So don’t blame athletes for the fact that America continues to spend money on “amateur” sports (more during this recession that pre-recession!). We are encouraged by the leadership gurus to “play to your strengths”. However, when athletically gifted kids follow this mantra, we so quickly make them the villian for the flaws of the commercialized institution deemed college sports — rather than hold the beneficiaries of the money coffers accountable for such exploitation. Seriously, is it the players’ fault that these coaches we lionize find a way to get these kids into their programs? Really!
Pamela
January 3rd, 2012
12:23 pm
Honestly speaking..NO we should NOT pay college athletes, but they get paid anyway. If you pay them then you should also pay ALL college students. Fair is fair.
CDJ
January 3rd, 2012
12:25 pm
So a non-athlete student can be awarded a full-ride scholarship, work on Wall Street over the summer and earn $15k – $20k, but an athlete’s ability to work and earn money is limited or restricted. Why is this so?
And please don’t contend that an athlete playing for a big-time sports program probably wouldn’t get a job on Wall Street. You’d be surprised at how free-market capitalism values specialty commidities — and what it is willing to pay for them!
Jack
January 3rd, 2012
12:27 pm
The notion of paying a college student to play ball is ridiculous on the face of it. If they’re paid to play, others will want to be paid to study. Ridiculous.
Athlete Student
January 3rd, 2012
12:31 pm
@Really Amazed….to begin, athletes do not receive full ride scholarships. They are evaluated each year and you best believe if they do not perform, they will lose their scholarship. The discussion is centered about performance and labor. Are the players being compensated for the output of labor. The University of Texas football program made approximately $55 million this year. Say for instance it costs $25,000 per year to attend the school. If you paid out 70 scholarships that would only amount to $1,750,000. You still have $53 million remaining. I know, they fly, stay is swanky hotels, and need equipment (Nike, Addidas, UnderArmour and others gladly donate and pay teams to where merchandise).
It is crazy to think that athletes making this type of money for institutions with the hope of receiving a degree. I have three and playing high level competitive football and the amount of hours we put in during season and off season is substantial. What happens is the money is funneled to boring academic programs such as anthropoloy, english studies, and art…to keep those professors on staff and build swanky buildings to woo parents on visits.
Football and Basketball needs farm/minor leagues like baseball and you will see much of the corruption gone. But oh no, the NCAA cartel will not allow that to happen, because baseball doesn’t make much money at all on the collegiate level, so they need to keep Football and Basketball to pay for the scholarships of those athletes playing Golf, Tennis, Wrestling, Soccer, Volleyball, Softball, Lacrosse, ect….yeah the sports that only the parents and girlfriends might find time to attend and I don’t see any golf shirts from Notre Dame or any Lacrosse jerseys from Duke flying off the shelves.
The athletes might as well take the degree with them to the bathroom just in case.
catlady
January 3rd, 2012
12:42 pm
No, athletes get plenty of “pay” already. They get the chance at an education including tuition, fees and books, usually housing, food, travel expenses, all kinds of tutoring, workout opportunities, and publicity. If we pay them $2000, they will owe MORE than that in perks they already get. Let it alone. You are not forced to play ball for anyone.
Jason
January 3rd, 2012
12:45 pm
I absolutely disagree that they players should be paid. What they are receiving currently is the equivalent of an upaid apprenticeship. All their costs are covered (tuition, food, health care, room and board, books, etc.). They are treated with the same fairness that graduate and PHD students are treated when they invent something in the lab that becomes property of the university. In exchange for all of this, they are also receiving the following free things:
1) Free Coaching to improve their skills
Free access to personal tutors to help acheive success in the classroom
2) Free access to weight rooms/gyms to improve their bodies
3) Free access to nutritional staff to improve their bodies
4) Free evironments such as stadiums/collesiums to display their talent
5) Free equipment to wear in games/practices/around the campus
6) Bowl participants receive stipends for fun during the trip plus goodies such as electronics
7) Free exposure on national television to market their skills to potenital future employers
9) Established networking connections with an alumni base to provide jobs after school outside of sports
10) A college degree that will open up opportunities for the rest of their lives.
11) Free travel to and from sporting events (including bowl games).
If these things aren’t enough, then what is? And really, all we are talking about here is men’s football and basketball. Those programs are really the only thing that enables schools to be able to give out scholarships to track teams, soccer teams, etc. Otherwise, the universities would not be able to afford paying any athletes.
The athletes may indeed work extremely hard, but the truth is that they are receiving fair compensation through not only scholarships, but also the free coaching, training, and facilities to improve themselves so that they are able to become professional athletes. If they don’t want to go to college, then they could go straight to the professional leauges. Even in football, they could go to Arena Leauge or the CFL if they didn’t want to go to college. How many of those guys are able to make it to the pros without the free stuff that colleges provide?
The truth is that paying athletes would only end up raising tuition costs for all other students.
cris
January 3rd, 2012
12:47 pm
No.Nononononononono. We have PROFESSIONAL sports for those players who are worthy of being paid….get rid of the years-out-of-high-school requirements so those super-talented atheletes don’t have to wait their 2, 3 years to go to the pros…..use that big money to offer actual full-ride scholarships for ALL the athletes in ALL sports….but do not, DO NOT say that college athletes should be paid a salary for playing……and as for sob stories, PUH-LEEZE! There are many college students who work full-time jobs, have families, take out loans, etc. that would love to have even a partial scholarship, so spare me the “but da poor liddle foosball pwayers don’t have enough time after pwactice to study for “weal” cwasses, so dey have to take sports management ones!”
INSANITY!!
Harp
January 3rd, 2012
12:48 pm
Yes, the athletes are getting a scholarship for their education, but what about the other necessities? The athletes are not getting the full value for what they bring to the university in terms of revenue.
cris
January 3rd, 2012
12:49 pm
@AthleteStudent…Duke Lacrosse….try to use a better example next time please….
Pompano
January 3rd, 2012
12:50 pm
@dawgfan – great post & you sum up my sentiments exactly. It’s sad that everyone but the athletes make a killing from FB & BB. FB & BB players are treated like indentured servants at the expense of all other sports. Plus – these guys live under a microscope. No one cares if a member of the Volleyball team gets in trouble or has a traffic infraction but FB & BB players make the front-page for even the slightest transgressions.
Jason
January 3rd, 2012
12:58 pm
@Athlete Student -
Not many schools bring in the kind of income on football that the University of Texas does. Which begs the question, if other schools have similiar talent on the football field but can’t bring in the same type of football income, then does that mean that the individual university is more responsible for the financial success of its program rather than the individual players?
Additionally, you mention that the money generated goes on to build buildings and hire staff to teach boring things like antropology, english studies, and art. Isn’t that the mission of a university?
And if the university stops investing in education of these so called “boring” majors, wouldn’t that in turn reduce the attendence of the school, reducing the alumi base, and eventually reduce the number of people investing in the university’s football program?
At what point do we realize that these athletes are provided with many benefits beyond what they receive as part of their scholarship. If they don’t like it, then why don’t they build their own environment in which to display their talents? Would it be because the cost would be prohibitively high? If that’s the case then we should be willing to allow financial benefits to go to those who invested their money in order to make the athletic environment become possible – the universities.
gbiscuit9
January 3rd, 2012
1:02 pm
Is anyone forcing these football and basketball players to play?If they don’t like the situation, do something else. Getting school, room and board paid for seems okay to me.
Doug
January 3rd, 2012
1:04 pm
I think that paying the college athletes will make a bad situation worse. As the NCAA says in their advertisements, there are over 400,000 NCAA athletes at this time. No one can afford to pay athletes except the big money programs in the big conferences (the SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12 and the Big East). These schools are a minority of the NCAA institutions, but of course get a majority of coverage.
But even at the big schools, the minor sports are not funded fully nor do they have the same benefits as the big money sports. Only a few sports have full scholarships, most sports split the scholarships between team members. The NCAA limits the number of scholarships each school can have in certain sports to fewer scholarships than team members. So they are saving money in the minor sports area, and having 85 scholarships in football, many for players that never play a down in a real game. How are you going to pay those football players, pay everyone evenly? The All-American quarterback makes the same pay as the reserve kicker?
Both Clemson and Maryland have cancelled their swimming programs this year, because of budget problems in other sports. Both teams have been competing in swimming for many years, and Maryland is one of the best swimming teams in the ACC. More minor sport program will be cut if you pay the athletes, the money has to come from somewhere, and the Athletic Associations will not take it out of the current Football and Basketball budgets.
Jason
January 3rd, 2012
1:05 pm
@Dawgfan -
Didn’t those “corporate fat cats” risk the universities’ money to build stadiums, indoor practice fields, coaches, etc. in order to make it possible for the athletes to succeed on the field. Since the university risked the money to make their programs a success, shouldn’t they also benefit from the risk on investment. Last I checked, the universities do well by their students to take care of their health since they are risking life on the field. However, if nobody comes to the games, and the universities lose money, do the players stand a risk of losing anything?
Ron
January 3rd, 2012
1:05 pm
Athletics is overemphasized in schools at all levels. It’s absurd that anyone would suggest paying college athletes!
Harp
January 3rd, 2012
1:07 pm
Everything comes with a price. Athletes get nothing for “free.” The same way that a corporation will spend money on an employee for training in new technology to ensure that they stay on the cutting edge, the university spends money to ensure that the athletes are in the best shape possible to achieve the desired results.
Mike Vick
January 3rd, 2012
1:08 pm
I just fight dogs on the side when I was at college. My paper was lookin real good!
Typical Bama Player
January 3rd, 2012
1:09 pm
I already do get paid!
Ron Burgundy
January 3rd, 2012
1:10 pm
My favorite college athlete is the white no athleticism football player at the division IIIIII school. I mean anyone could suit up and “play” there. These guys put ona jersey for four years playing center or special teams when and if they ever do start. They then go on to tell anyone within earshot about how they played college football.
Classic!
Joe
January 3rd, 2012
1:12 pm
In a free market, athletes can choose not to go to college–or go to college and not play a sport–if they don’t like the current arrangement.
Ex Non Div 1A White College Football Player
January 3rd, 2012
1:13 pm
In my day…when I played college football we were legends of the school. I mean I could walk around Valdosta after a big VSU game and people would look at me in amazement. When I played college football…men were men.
Did I mention I played college football? We won the Onion division my sophmore year. I was honorable mention All conference as a center!
Warrior Woman
January 3rd, 2012
1:16 pm
Jason is right – they’re already being paid.
Guest
January 3rd, 2012
1:22 pm
“And please don’t contend that an athlete playing for a big-time sports program probably wouldn’t get a job on Wall Street.”
They wouldn’t, unless they played (preferably lacrosse, hockey or football) at an Ivy or NESCAC.
Athlete Student
January 3rd, 2012
1:24 pm
It is truly amazing how many of the posters on this blog always sing praises for capitalism and free market economic, etc. when the discussion is about voucher and private vs. public education, however, when it comes to certain sports and certain groups of individuals they already get all the benefits they need, like a bar a soap to wash up after practice, and a meal plan similar to the one they received from their food stamp program, or an education they would have never received anyway.
@Jason, yes, I truly believe higher education should be about learning and education. I have served almost all my career in higher education as faculty and leadership. For what reason does new students come to the school? Many students do not want to attend schools that do not have basketball of football presence. Why do alumni travel for the weekend to tailgate and the campus of to another location? Unfortunately, not to see an English debate. You let me know when the Anthropology Dept. students brings $$$$. The faculty may get an occassional research grant.
@Cris, if the golf team spends money on sweat suits, travel expenses, hotels, and meals and if they used only what they receive from their own concessions, merchandise, and ticket sales, they would not play a full 18 holes, they would only be able to affort 9 holes. Therefore, they are thankful for their football and basketball programs and the revenue they generate not only for their scholarships, but for them to participate in their sport as well.
@ Doug, I guess we will decrease the number of teams from 120 football and 350 basketball to approx. 65 football and 120 basketball. Free market has dissolved those that fail to make an income.
Ex Non Div 1A White College Football Player
January 3rd, 2012
1:27 pm
Athlete Student….you dont HAVE to play college sports. Thats the difference. I HAVE to pay taxes so I can complain about the money but you dont HAVE to play sports. Taxes and death are about all you HAVE to do.
Athlete Student
January 3rd, 2012
1:27 pm
Athletes should be subcontractors of the college if the NCAA Cartel does not want to release the noose and separate the college and athletics. They are recruited as an athlete and not a student in most instances. I’m gonna go away and stop at this time. Football for many is almost their religion and people don’t want you messing with their college team and Mark Emmert and the NCAA understands their passion and PIMPS all day, er day.
Athlete Student
January 3rd, 2012
1:32 pm
@ Ex Non Div 1A White College Football Player, I agree, however, the athletes just need someone to voice for them. They are getting shafted and you know it. If no one ever speaks to the power, nothing happens. You’re right they don’t have to play. Just take out the TV contracts, Bowl Games, Corporations, Shoe Deals, Coach Media Deals, Concessions (bring your own bag lunch), make people stand to watch the game, take away the luxury suites. Everything that makes $$$$ for the institution.