College athletes work just as hard as a professional athletes; the only difference is they don’t receive any payment.

One of the main issues colleges face when they consider paying their athletes, is where the money would come from to pay the athletes. ESPN pays the Bowl Championship Series $500 Million dollars to keep athletes in the game. According to Michael Wilbon of ESPN, “What if people in the business of money took $1.3 billion off the top, invested it, sheltered it and made it available to provide a stipend to college athletes, how could anybody stand on principle and argue against paying the people who make the events possible in the first place?” He used to believe that college athletes should not get paid because most of them are there on a scholarship that covers tuition, housing, food, books and other expenses. Why would they need anything else? Now he thinks it would help them play better, and they would be better in the “Pros”.

Why else should college athletes get paid? First, it is thought to help them improve their playing. According to Marc Edelman of Forbes, the typical college football player devotes 43.3 hours of his week to his sport. This is 3.3 hours more than the average working American. These athletes do work just as hard as any full-time employee, but they receive no pay. According to CNN Money, the world’s largest business website, “Up until the season starts, the workload trails off to 50 to 60 hours a week. That eases to 40 to 50 hours a week once the season, and classes, begin.” College athletes don’t ever get a real break, many teams have games on New Year’s Eve and even on Christmas Day. During the season players work really hard, but the end of the season doesn’t make the work load go away completely. CNN Money says, “There’s 12 to 15 hours a week of January weight training, 15 to 20 hours a week preparing for spring football practice, and then 20 to 25 hours a week for spring and summer practice.”

The National Collegiate Athletic Association has stated that there are about 480,000 NCAA athletes and only about 1% or less make it to the professional teams. Since most of the college athletes don’t make it to the “Pros” is it still worth it to pay them?  Is it still debatable whether college athletes will ever get a real pay check, not just scholarships? It appears to be a matter of opinion.