Should College Athletes Get Paid?

The argument on whether or not college athletes deserve a paycheck has been one of the highest debated topics within sports for years. Men and women that go to college to play sports have a certain motive that is involved in the journey. There is a common goal among athletes that are up and coming in the world: going pro. Getting to the professional level of athletics is what every serious athlete strives for. That is what drives them to push themselves beyond what normal people are capable of doing.

The factor that initiates this craving for success: the money. The money that goes along with professional sports is astronomical. What professional athletes get paid in a year is more than most people make in their lifetime. For example, according to Forbes.com the average salary of an NFl player is between $400,000 - $435,000. Excluding members of poverty in the United States, the average salary in the U.S. is $52,893, says TradingEconomics.com.

If sports of the collegiate level came with some sort of compensation, it would take away one's determination to get to the professional level because they are already being rewarded for their work. ESPN says this about the topic, "the most universally agreed, yet universally debated, issue in all of non-professional sports..."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2016/12/15/average-player-salaries-in-major-american-sports-leagues/#56ac68511050