As college athletic programs continue to generate millions of dollars in revenue for their schools, advocates for student-athletes have begun pushing for schools to pay their players, while opponents say that compensating athletes has the potential to ruin college sports. Here are some pros and cons of paying student-athletes:
PROS
- $2,000 per semester could deter students from going pro for millions of dollars
- Treating college players like pros would encourage them to follow the same high standard of moral conduct as professional athletes
- Money could help out family members who can’t wait two years to begin leeching off of athlete
- Kahlil Felder is absolutely dominating in the paint
- Would give college athletes the capital they need to start chain of fitness centers after graduating
- Balancing opportunity to make money against risk of debilitating injury better prepares college athletes for professional sports
- Gainesville, FL not the cheapest town to live in
- Falls in line with long tradition of paying people for the work they do
CONS
- Could detract from purity of multi-billion-dollar collegiate athletics industry
- Lax prosecution of criminal charges against student-athletes already payment enough
- May, perhaps, cause student-athletes to focus more on sports than on classes
- Universities should treat athletes with the same indifference as any other college student with crushing loan obligations
- $6 billion pie only so big
- Players already get free cortisone shots, ice baths, CT scans
- Some players suck
- Can’t put a price on the privilege to call yourself a Nittany Lion
- Costs schools more than doing nothing