Why and How College Athletes Should be Paid

Why and How College Athletes Should be Paid Student E

Why and How College Athletes Should be Paid § Kevin Ware’s Injury & Exploitation § Reasons that college athletes are not paid § Response § Reasons colleges athletes should be paid § Popular proposed system § Solution § Questions § Works Cited

Kevin Ware’s Injury

Ware’s Injury Exploited (“Kevin Ware”)

Reasons Athletes are Not Paid § NCAA Considers them amateurs – “Student First” § “Student-Athlete” § Ernest Nemeth vs. University of Denver – Colorado Supreme Court, 1953 (Mc. Cormick) § “Prevent the dreaded notion that NCAA athletes could be thought of as employees” – NCAA Exec. Dir. Walter Byers (qtd. in Mc. Cormick) Response § “Student First” claim is untrue § Athletes pick classes and majors around sports schedule (Cooper) § Western Oklahoma State College (Wolverton) § Athletes are employees (Mc. Cormick) § Control, economic relationship, work leads to profit

Reasons Athletes are Not Paid § Scholarships can be worth $80, 000 and $150, 000 (Ford) § Many see this as fair payment § Most college athletes receive no scholarship money (Ford) § Scholarship value does not compare to revenue that the players bring their schools (Miller) § Many believe the massive amounts that athletes make as professionals justifies the fact that they are not paid in college § Most college athletes do not play professional sports (“NCAA Public Service Announcement”)

Why College Athletes Should be Paid § Ticket sales and broadcasting rights bring in massive sums of money § Michigan Football sold $70 million worth of tickets in 2011 (Michigan Ticket Prices; NCAA Attendance Report) § NCAA makes $125 million a year for broadcasting rights to BCS games § NCAA makes $771 million a year for broadcasting rights to NCAA Tournament § NCAA and schools profit from jersey sales § Schools only sell jerseys with numbers of star players § Professional athletes are paid for sales of their jerseys

Why College Athletes Should be Paid § Division I College Athlete Graduation rates 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 Football Men's All College Women's Basketball Athletes Basketball (NCAA Research Staff)

Why College Athletes Should be Paid § Paying athletes will raise graduation rates § College athletes have no time to make money § Talented football and basketball players leave school early to play professionally § NBA Draft Statistics (NBA Draft History) § Last college graduate selected first: Kenyon Martin in 2000 § None of the first 16 picks in 2012 graduated § 9 of the last 10 American-born first overall picks attended college for 1 year or less If the athletes were paid in school, they would have less reason to leave school early, and more would graduate.

Popular Proposed System § Universities directly pay the students § Flat pay rate for all players § Schools without funds to pay players could cut less popular sports and decrease the amount of scholarships to make more money available (Dohrmann) § Not an ideal scenario

Solution § Remove rules preventing college athletes from making money off of their name and likeness § NCAA will be able to use player names for sales, and the players will receive a portion This will increase: § Jersey and t-shirt sales § Videogame sales § Allow players to sign endorsement deals § Athletic companies would be willing to pay college athletes to appear in advertisements § Could lead to a step toward parity

Conclusion § College athletes put in hours of work and make millions for their schools, often risking their health and well-being. § These athletes need to be paid, and the best possible solution is to lift some of the rules that prevent players from being able to make money.

Questions § Do you agree that college athletes should be paid? § Do you agree that the best way to pay them is by allowing them to make money from sales and endorsements?

Works Cited § Cooper, Kenneth J. "Should College Athletes Be Paid to Play? Michigan State Law Professors Robert and Amy Mc. Cormick Say Division I Athletes Qualify as 'Employees' Under Federal Labor Laws. " Diverse Issues in Higher Education 28. 10 (2011): 12. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. § Dohrmann, George. “Pay for Play. ” Sports Illustrated 115. 18 (2011): 52 -59. Academic Search Elite. Web. 28 Mar. 2013. § Ford, William J. “Even Playing Field? Winning Athletic Program Can Bring Millions of Dollars and Instant Notoriety to A School. But Some Say College Athletes are Getting Played in the Process. ” Diverse Issues in Higher Education 28. 6 (2011): 11. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 21 Feb. 2013 § Hayes, Chris. “Fat Profits at NCAA while Athletes Play for Free. ” msnbc. 1 Apr. 2013. Web. 3 Apr. 2013. § “Kevin Ware T-shirts Pulled by Adidas. ” Sporting News. 5. Apr. 2013. Web. 9 Apr. 2013. § “Michigan Athletics Announces Ticket Prices for 2011 Season. ” MGo. Blue. University of Michigan, 14 Mar 2011. Web. 21 Feb 2013.

Works Cited § Miller, Anthony W. “NCAA Division I Athletics: Amateurism and Exploitation. ” The Sport Journal 14. 1 (2011). Academic One. File. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. § “NBA Draft History. ” National Basketball Association. 26 Feb. 2013. Web. 6 Mar. 2013. § NCAA. “NCAA Public Service Announcement. ” Online video clip. You. Tube, 24 Apr. 2008. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. § “NCAA Accumulated Attendance Report. ” Oracle Reports. 10 Jan 2012. Web. 21 Feb 2013. § NCAA Research Staff. “Trends in Graduation-Success Rates and Federal Graduation Rates at NCAA Division I Institutions. ” National Collegiate Athletic Association. Oct. 2012. Web. 4 Apr. 2013. § Wolverton, Brad. "Need 3 Quick Credits to Play Ball? Call Western Oklahoma. " The Chronicle of Higher Education 59. 12 (2012). Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.