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College Athletes Get Paid

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College sports have always been enjoyable and entertaining to watch. March
Madness and the College Football Playoffs are some of the most exciting sports events to view. The Super Bowl and NBA playoffs may be exciting too, but the key difference between professional athletes and collegiate athletes is that college athletes do not get paid. Many professional athletes play for money, so the passion may not be there. College athletes on the other hand, play for pride, their school, and for their team. The passion is obviously there, so it makes the game more intense, more energetic, and more intense. In recent years, a conflict has occurred as in deciding if college athletes should receive a salary or not. College athletes should not get paid …show more content…
The truth is that only a fraction of the programs are profitable while most operate at a cost to the institution” (Mitchell Page 1) While some of the bigger schools do indeed profit some of the bigger sports such as football and basketball, most schools are actually losing money rather than making money. “According to a 2013 USA TODAY Sports analysis only 23 of 228 athletics departments at NCAA Division I public schools generated enough money on their own to cover their expenses in 2012. Although athletics is an essential part of the culture and attraction to a university, the revenue it brings in usually doesn’t outweigh the costs of running the programs.” (Murphy Page 1) If schools were to start paying their college athletes, they would lose even more money. Since they would lose more money, that would result in schools having to shut down some of the other athletic programs that don’t produce enough revenue and are a high cost. That wouldn’t be fair for students participating in those sports. Football and basketball usually produce enough revenue to keep the smaller sports intact, and by paying college athletes, that would take away the funds and costs used for the smaller sports. “According to a recent study, just 22 schools profited from football during the 2009-2010 academic year. College football is hardly the cash cow that some believe the …show more content…
There is a reason college athletes are referred to as college athletes and not professional athletes. NCAA president Mark Emmert strongly believes that college football and basketball would dip in popularity if universities were to pay the best players on the best teams. Only the biggest and wealthiest universities would be able to compete for championships year after year. Players would most likely be choosing schools based on how much they would get paid, and not on the fact if they actually enjoy the school. College athletics are obviously different from professional athletics. “Take away the university/college "label" associated with college football and what do we have? The NFL. Do the same for all of the other college sports, and the professional equivalent to that sport comes up as the answer.” (Jackson Page 1) Paying college athletes would defeat the purpose of being a college athlete. College football and basketball would be less popular, because it would be the same as the NFL and NBA. College athletes play for their school not for payment or anything, but for the love of the game. Paying college athletes would take the love and joy out of college athletics. Why would we want the passion taken out of college

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