The state of subjection like that of a slave has been re-defined in collegiate athletics. College athletes deserve to be paid.
It is obvious that a university’s ultimate objective is to advance the education of its students, and further prepare them to become effective in their pursuit of success in the world they face after the completion of school.
The so-called contention of “common sense” in relation to fair compensation promotes the concept that student-athletes are fully benefited to the point of satisfaction. However, those who discern tuition, room and board, books, and education as compensation are not coherent to the point of which must be understood.
Star-studded athletes, such as Andrew Luck of Stanford and Matt Barkley of USC, are the faces of their respective universities; they are not superstars on their own, however.
Collegiate athletes are not consummated through the idealistic notion of education. America does not celebrate its greatest students with the same grandeur as it does with its future professional superstar phenoms in the likes of the NFL and NBA. In retrospect, the distinction of imminent celebrity status in the collegiate sports world is created through the most powerful medium known to man: television.
In its agreement with CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tells us that $680 million of their $757 million of total revenue for 2009-2010 stemmed from television and marketing. That’s 86 percent.
Now, consider the legitimate, economic ramifications of fairness in terms of the relative value of a collegiate scholarship in comparison to $680 million of annual revenue, for which is generated from extreme media demand to broadcast certain collegiate sports. The association generates an insane amount of profit from the tremendous demand to broadcast certain collegiate athletic events, and therefore capitalizes on its athletes.
It must be further realized that most of the revenue generated in collegiate athletics stems from two sports: football and men’s basketball.
The purpose in this declaration is to dissolute the distorted realities of collegiate athletics, and decipher the dominance that the NCAA has established over its apparent product: the athletes.
In its new contract with CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting, the NCAA will generate $10.8 billion of revenue from 2011 to 2024 for the media production of March Madness. That’s almost $11 billion that the association will pocket for three weekends of media coverage on an annual basis.
ESPN also has a new $500 million deal that will compensate the association for the network’s right to televise the Bowl Championship Series on its affiliates through 2014.
In consideration of the enormous amount of revenue that the association generates from selling the exclusive television rights to NCAA-football and basketball; the question of revenue distribution should be deciphered.
The NCAA allocates upwards of 60% of its total revenue to Division-1A conferences, which contend to entrust their share in institutions that support their athletic programs. How is the revenue distributed at certain institutions?
According to its website, “At a typical Division I Football Bowl Subdivision institution, the most common uses of the money would be for salaries, financial aid for student-athletes, facility maintenance and rental, and travel.”
But, how much annual income is allocated to official salaries? The top 14 NCAA Executives totaled almost $6 million in 2009 for their work in a “non-profit organization,” which means that the association is not required to pay federal taxes on its revenue. (Don’t forget that these salaries were also increased in the midst of an economic recession).
In consideration of the enormous influx of revenue that the association and its partners generate from collegiate athletics, I am confident in declaring that collegiate athletes deserve to be paid.
The benefits in enacting a “pay-for-play” type establishment in the realm of collegiate athletics would further advance the growing popularity of certain sports, such as football and men’s basketball, and also increase the likelihood that athletes would achieve the completion of their respective degree programs. The concept of financial compensation in collegiate athletics would also virtually guarantee that fewer student-athletes would declare for their respective professional drafts before graduation.
It is argued that the establishment of such a program would, however, deplete the notoriety of the “student-athlete,” and violate Title IX, which guarantees equal federal financial opportunities for women. However, it should be noted that there is not a significant demand to broadcast and sponsor certain woman’s sports in comparison to football and men’s basketball. The woman’s March Madness tournament is televised in contract with ESPN, but does not generate the whopping figure of $10.8 billion like the men’s tournament does.
The allowance should be subjective in terms of the amount of revenue that a particular sport generates. The revenue earned should therefore be distributed to student-athletes on the basis of the popular demand of a given sport, and the given market value of their respective conferences.
The concept of utilizing the incredible athletic abilities of student-athletes to generate revenue without financial compensation is criminal. The association has created an establishment of capitalism for which its student-athletes have becomes a means of profit.
About John Shea
Well one of the draw backs would be ‘Millionares’ in the NCAA years before they become Millionares in professional Sports. I don’t see it as criminal to have organized sports on the College level. Yeah I’m all for Capitalism. Its what built our great Nation. Those that want to destroy it offer nothing in return. You want to live like a serf in Russia? The Russian Union of Soviet Socialist Republic crumbled and failed years before you were born. I laugh when folks cherry pick a system and hold forth ideals that are not understood nor followed by the regime that was in power at the time.
If you want to split the pie with your knife how much goes to whom and why? You going to give $ for each point scored… touchdown made… what a job that would be. The money comes in to the school with no string attached and is spent for who knows what? The gravy train should at least pay taxes on their income, No? The NCAA isn’t the only way into professional sports. How many Millionares out of the NCAA didn’t make it as RB’s or QB’s?
Interesting subject but weak when it comes to your solutions.
http://prod.www.titans.clubs.nfl.com/news/article-1/Best-Worst-First-Round-NFL-Draft-Picks/9957988b-0367-409d-bde0-5a36cc4f830e
Where do I explicitly state that athletes would suddenly become “millionaires?” It’s not unknown that there is a skewed affect of revenue distribution in the major subdivisions of the NCAA (i.e. FBS). Universities should allocate a specific percentage of their slice to its athletes based on the marketing value of its given conference. For example, BIG10 athletes should be allowed a greater amount of income than Sun Belt athletes.
Furthermore, my argument has absolutely nothing to do with the future success of college athletes in their respective sports. How many corporate executives pull-in 6-figure salaries in disastrous companies? I don’t think you understood the logic involved in contending that student athletes deserve their share.
The only real solution is to stop using Academia as the stepping stone to professional sports. Baseball has a minor league to develop major league baseball players. This all comes without a manufactured degree in underwater basket weaving. The NFL should follow suit as well as the NBA and other major sports.
No the colleges wouldn’t like this because it would take money away from their programs. But if we are interested in a “Student Athlete” then they should be students first and athletes second. At this point they are Athlete “students” with few exceptions. The answer is not to pay them for playing while in college. The answer is in a minor league system that will develop players in their chosen sport without taxing our College system with people who should not be there because they have no desire or need for a college degree.
That would be virtually impossible to accomplish, and is also counter-productive to my point. One of the main objectives in distributing a portion of revenue to student-athletes is to keep them in school. A solid percentage of student-athletes come from low-income families, which is partly why so many student-athletes declare for their respective drafts before finishing school. And, although scholarships enable these kids to earn a college education, they are not compensated.
You want to strip these kids of the advancement of their education entirely? That does not make sense.
So its “virtually impossible” not impossible.
Just kidding. My point is that there are Athletes that are in college not for the education (and they are just passed along) but for the stepping stone to the pro’s or the shot at making it to the pros. For the Athlete that is just there for that purpose, there should be a Minor league that provides him and his family a means of financial support without tying them down to the NCAA rules of the “student athlete”. There is also debate on what exactly the “advancement” that their education actually gives them. Being passed through a college system and given a degree in rhetoric and communications is not going to benefit you long term. Many of these athletes will make a living on their names, or in coaching or in something completely non-related to the “degree” that they receive. NCAA is never, and I repeat, NEVER going to pay players to play any sport in college. They will throw out the amateur status argument, the love of the game, or the value that the “student athlete” recieves as compensation. Just as the NCAA will never do away with the BCS for the fact that it makes them millions of dollars, it will never pay athletes for the same reason. They don’t need to. There is no other avenue to get to the pros.
Great article on this topic that pretty much shows that college athletes are already getting paid….
http://www.holyturf.com/2011/05/football-players-receive-17000-annually-in-cash-all-within-ncaa-rules/