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Why it’s impossible to pay college athletes

Paying college athletes is a topic that has been argued everywhere from Sports Center to the New Yorker. It has become one of the most polarizing topics in the world of sports and will continue to be that way as long as student athletes receive payments under the table. 

College athletics are a billion-dollar industry. According to Business Insider, $9.15 billion was generated in total revenue by the 231 division I NCAA schools in the year 2015 (Gaines, C. 1). There is a belief that players deserve a cut of this massive revenue they earn their respective institution, which is understandable, people are entitled to what they earn. However, it is not as simple as giving someone their due. Issues quickly arise in terms of pay disparities, conflicts of interest, and athletic status. There is no universally fair way to pay college athletes, in the end someone always ends up at a disadvantage, therefore it is impossible to pay student athletes. 

If universities were ever to pay their student athletes, a level playing field must first be created. This means a system of equal payment and compensation between schools, genders, sports, and all differentiating aspects. No one group, or individual can benefit from paying athletes more so than any others. These potential inconsistencies are inevitable if universities ever attempt to pay athletes. 

The first issue with creating a level playing field is the fact all sports do not earn the same amount. According to business insider, the average college football team makes more than the next 25 college sports combined (Gaines, C. 2). Division I Football players bring in so much money for their respective schools that, for an entire team to be paid a fair share of the revenue they helped earn, other athletic programs would need to be cut. 

For the sake of equality, a universal wage scale would have to be created in order to prevent any potential payment discrepancies. This means all players would have to be paid the same amount, everyone from the Heisman trophy winner to the back-up shot put thrower on the University of Oregon’s women’s track and field team. 

While equal pay among sports is important, equal pay among genders is paramount. Title IX is the civil rights law, which states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance,” (Title IX and Sex Discrimination).For the NCAA to be in compliance with Title IX, no student would be entitled to greater compensation based on the fact they play a sport a woman cannot (Solomon, J.). Even though a football or basketball player may earn more for their school, they cannot be paid more than their female counterpart solely because they play a sport exclusive to their gender. Otherwise, they might run into potentially hefty law suit. 

For the sake of perspective, in 2009, former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon and former Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller sued EA sports and the NCAA over the use of their likeness in the “March Madness” and “NCAA Football” video game series despite having not previously been paid (Wiedey, B.). The two won their suit, but when they tried to move the case of O’Bannon VS NCAA to the Supreme Court, it would not be heard. As a result, NCAA revoked their license from EA Sports, which was then forced EA to drop all college sports titles and pay the O’Bannon class $60 million to get out of the lawsuit (Wiedey, B.). This case stemmed from payment discrepancies involving the use of a player’s likeness in a video game, this would pale in comparison to a civil right case involving the NCAA.

 Any system of pay potentially put in place would also have to be agreed upon by all institutions involved. If all students are to receive equal pay, then all of the universities constituting the NCAA must first decide how much they are being paid. That means even the universities occupying the division II & III levels would be held to the same responsibilities as the largest schools in the country. 

A university like Texas A&M, with the highest grossing athletic program in the country, brings in close to two hundred million dollars yearly and would be able to pay their athletes at a fairly handsome rate, while a schools like the Temple or Lehigh University would never be able to match what they could potentially offer (USA TODAY Sports). This would hypothetically lead to recruiting advantages for universities like Texas A&M over smaller schools. It could also lead to potential bidding wars over top prospects, which would begin to blur the lines between amatuer and professional athletics.

Speaking in terms of financial feasibility, universities could never afford to pay all of their student athletes. While college athletics are a billion-dollar industry, they are also an industry that costs billions to keep running. In 2016, the NCAA spent $1.3 billion in total spending’s (Berkowitz, S., & Schnaars, C.). If student athletes were to be paid, that $1.3 billion figure could balloon to ridiculous proportions. Even after reaching the College Football Nation Championship in 2016, Clemson University’s athletic department turned a profit of only about $1.7 million (USA TODAY Sports). Athletes would be getting paid, but not enough to make a significant impact and just enough to potentially hurt their universities, which in turn could result in a higher cost of tuition or the loss of some athletic programs. 

The issue of status is unavoidable when it comes to paying student athletes. All college athletes are considered amatuers because they receive compensation that is non-monetary. Meriam-Webster’s dictionary defines “professional” as, “engaged in by persons receiving financial return.” If student athletes were to be paid, they would technically be considered professional athletes. 

The NCAA would then technically become a professional league. Tax money given to state colleges would come into question as it would help pay the salaries of professional athletes. Student Athletes from Northwestern’s football team tried to find a loop hole around this by unionizing and declaring themselves as university employees because their school is a private university (Isidore, C.). However, The National Labor Relations Board shot down the athletes’ attempts to unionize stating that, “The Board held that asserting jurisdiction over a single team would not promote stability in labor relations across the league,” (Isidore, C.).So once again, the issue of universal equality stomps out any attempts of further compensating college athletes.

There is however, a system currently in place which fairly compensates its athletes; scholarships. Students receive special access to university facilities, free room and board, an all-you-can-eat meal plan, and a free education in exchange for their athletic services. According to Scholarshipstat.com, the average male athlete earned $14,270 in scholarships in 2015, while the average female athlete earned $15,162 (Average Athletic Scholarship per Varsity Athlete). They may not be making millions in cold, hard cash, but they are being fairly compensated. 

The best solution to paying college athletes is by removing college from the equation. Sports like baseball, hockey, and soccer allow for athletes to make the jump directly from high school to the pros if they have the will and the ability. Rather than forcing all athletes to attend college and debating whether they should be paid by their universities, simply let them go pro and earn the money they deserve the right way. 

While rules like one-and-done have their heart in the right place putting an emphasis on education is important, they do not necessarily affect everyone the same way. It is becoming increasingly common for high school basketball players to forego college and play professionally overseas for a season. Athletes such as Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons do not really benefit from a year of college and simply stand the risk of injury; Irving played in just 11 games during his time at Duke University and still went first overall in the NBA draft. We should reward these exceptions to the rule rather than treat every athlete like the exception and reward the rule itself. 

Creating a minor league in the NFL and legitimizing the NBA’s G League would allow high school athletes the opportunities to quickly go pro and earn the money they deserve. John Calipari, head coach of the University of Kentucky basketball team, has made himself a hall of fame coach based on the one-and-done rule and even he is trying to do away with it entirely (Daniels, T.). He brings up some good points about the removal of one-and-done:

“If they want to go out of high school, go. If they want to go to college and then leave, let them leave when they want to leave,” Calipari said (Daniels, T.). “Why would we force a kid to stay? ‘Well—it’s good for the game?’ It’s about these kids and their families. Because let me tell you, if we [abolish one-and-done], the kids that do come to college will stay for two to three years,” (Daniels, T.).

We debate over how universities should pay their athletes, when in actuality, it’s only a select few that really deserve the money. It’s ridiculous to think that anyone is championing for a backup punter to get the money he deserves. 

Honestly, the entire debate devalues the entire point of college athletics. There are close to 500,000 athletes in the NCAA and they are all compensated in the same, fair way; an education (Student-Athletes). Only a select few student athletes will find professional careers in athletics, most will find careers because of athletics. 

To think that student athletes need further compensations, in addition to scholarships, is simply unnecessary and would cost universities more than it would help any athlete. The system that is currently in place is universally fair and proven successful. It is impossible for universities to pay student athletes and that’s why we should leave paying athletes to the professionals.

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By Jimmy Williamson

I like cartoons and chocolate milk. I’m secretly two kids in a trench coat.

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