Can We Just Pay the College Athletes Already?
Right now Mr. G is watching football. It’s Sunday, and Sunday is for football. Unless you’re a fan of College Football. If college football is your thing, then you spent Saturday watching games.
Right now college athletes are icing their bumps and bruises, training for next week, or (less likely) studying. Now, I know there are plenty of College Athletes who will leave their four year schools with a wonderful education, and a fine work ethic.
When I look at Football players for NCAA Division 1 schools I see professional athletes. I understand that they are supposed to be students. I am cognizant of the fact that they are not allowed to be paid, but still I see professional athletes.
College athletes bring millions (cumulatively billions) of dollars to schools, television networks, bars, eateries, parking lots and cities. College athletes are devoting a huge amount of time and resources to their sport, and not necessarily getting the education they are supposedly being gifted.
How many college football players are leaving college better prepared for the workforce than if they’d just went to high school? How many college football players will actually go on to play in the NFL? How many Division 1 Football players will leave college without having made academic advances?
College football players don’t have time to get jobs, and even with a full scholarship their families are often at a serious loss fiscally with travel expenses.
Every few years there’s a big scandal, and right now Reggie Bush is about to be made an example of. As far as I know only his family accepted gifts. How in the world is a College Football Coach supposed to monitor that.
Why should we care?
These kids are sacrificing everything just to run and catch a ball. Businesses are built around their athleticism, when we stop playing pretend and just pay these kids?