Eric Rogers
Principals of Ethics Final Paper
SHOULD STUDENT-ATHLETES BE PAID?
From jersey sales, coaches with multi-million dollar salaries, and schools and conference programs, the college sporting entertainment industry is a profitable business. The NCAA averaging close to a half billion dollars a year in revenue, not including over 181 million in football bowl games. Amongst large spectator sports, the only athletes that are said to be amateurs and not paid are the college players. Is it an extreme idea to include the athletes in the money making?
Most of the athletes currently receive scholarships, in which paying for most of their educational needs. Over a course of four to however many years it takes; depending on the students major, adds up to a large amount of money. That's if the student athlete stays and doesn't leave to pursue a professional sporting career.
The NBA and the NFL implemented rules stating that a student must attend a certain amount of years of college before allowing them to be eligible to declare for the draft. Is this a way to make sure the athlete has time to become a mature, somewhat educated adult or to allow the NCAA to make a profit off a high school star athlete and also in doing this, making sure the professional leagues test them in a major competitive setting before allowing them to play in their association? Is it ethical?
The main problems with paying college athletes is that it is not the colleges function. Their function is to educate, and not to hire college athletes for what they do on the basketball court or football field. also how would money be dispensed equally to all the athletes participating. Would it only be big money programs that would pay their athletes or would all college athletes get paid? I believe paying college athletes would raise more problems than it would solve. Its more of a moral issue rather than an economic one.