Should college athletes be paid?

[JimH5]

There are tons of Division One schools that aren't raking in the dough from their football programs.

 

I did a quick look at some lesser programs. . .Harvard, Western Michigan, Wyoming, Louisiana Tech. . .Lots of crowds in the 16,000-20,000 range.

 

Do you pay those guys less than players from higher-revenue schools?

Do starters get more than reserves?

What about athletes from non-revenue sports? Do they get paid? If we divert money to these student-athletes, what should be cut?

 

 

 

[GAME05]

i'm sure Title 9 proponents would have a lot to add on men's football players getting a stipend and nobody else getting anything.

[dannyjnoonan]

"You're entirely missing my point."

 

No. You are.

 

"The owner is not paying him to do the work. The owner is paying him because he wants to reward the player for being an athlete for the school he likes."

 

Exactly, which is what he should be free to do in this free country of ours.

 

"It has nothing to do with work."

 

It has everything to do with work, and risk taking, on the field.

 

"It would corrupt the system."

 

Too late. The system is already SUPER corrupt. The guys that make the enterprise valuable are not paid by said enterprise, and are basically not allowed to make money from any source. The system is not corrupt because people break the rules. It's corrupt because the rules are corrupt."

 

"If you're going to go that, you may as well just let athletes take free handouts."

 

Yes, that sounds like a fair thing to do in this free country of ours.

[LouisEly]

Jim beat me to it - I don't think that the Prairie View A&Ms of the world are turning a profit on their football programs.

 

If scholarships are worth $20K-$50K/year, what's another $500/year for food? Add a debit card to a scholarship for a nominal amount, say $250. It can get replenished up to another $250, so long as the player submits itemized receipts that are approved for legitimate expenses like food, bus/plane tickets, etc. or gets a prior authorization for a special expense (like a suit for away games, etc.). The cost of the program is funded by the NCAA, thus the profiteers of college sports are the ones paying for it.

 

I don't have a problem with athletes getting a stipend for basic needs like food. If you are restricted to the university dining hall for food because you are poor and that's all that's included in your scholarship, what if you can't get there until after the dining hall has closed? You had a long day of travel or studying and it's midnight and the dining hall isn't open? You have to eat.

 

What I do DO have a problem with is selling jerseys/etc. for tatts. That I have no sympathy for whatsoever.

[1992casey]

I think the athletes are probably covered for food; meal plans would be an extension of university housing. They're probably needing ways to pay for clothes, transportation, and (a reasonable amount of) recreation.

[RobertR]

What I do DO have a problem with is selling jerseys/etc. for tatts. That I have no sympathy for whatsoever.

 

I actually don't have a problem with that. Why shouldn't an athlete have the right to sell/barter his own property? I understand the potential for abuse, but when a rule pretty much flies in the face of the rest of society which almost venerates buying and selling of goods for profit, you have to question how realistic is the rule. Are they prohibited from trading in a vehicle for sale? Does the fact that the rule becomes null and void the minute an athlete uses up his eligibility make any sense?

 

You don't want athletes selling/bartering jerseys, then you make them return the jerseys at the end of the season.

 

Robert

[BrewersSuperCollector]

If college football players are good enough and don't feel as their college education is enough and want to get paid they can go to the CFL. There is no age requirements there.

[RightFieldCoder]

The sports universe has a different set of rules than the rest of the society.

 

The Brewers are not allowed to broadcast their games in NY and LA to try and gain more fans in those cities.

The Rays can't decide that TB doesn't support a winner and decide to build their new stadium a few blocks from Wriggly Field.

The Trailblazers can't decide that they want King James and offer him $40M a year.

The Cowboys had to share their profits with lesser teams like the Packers.

College athletes get paid only in free tuition and/or board.

[1992casey]

I think it's necessary to make sure that college athletes have enough money to ensure that they're not living as paupers. Consider these limitations:

• Athletes can't earn more than $2000 during the academic year.
• Athletes can't accept money unless they're legally or naturally dependent on the benefactor.
• There are severe restrictions on the type of jobs that athletes can accept, and as NeedMoreFans points out, there are hoops that have to be jumped. And hopefully, once these hoops are jumped, an error isn't made that would cause a violation to be found down the road.

[bani1717]

The Cowboys had to share their profits with lesser teams like the Packers.

 

This has nothing to do with your overall point, but is this statement based on fact, or is it an assumption? Just wondering because based on the Packers' popularity nationwide, I'd almost guess they'd lose more to revenue sharing than they'd gain from it.

[GAME05]

I think it's necessary to make sure that college athletes have enough money to ensure that they're not living as paupers.

ARE they living like paupers right now?

accepting a bunch of free shoes doesn't necessarily mean they're hard up for cash, but only taking advantage of an opportunity, illegal or not.

 

[paul253]

Athletes can't earn more than $2000 during the academic year.

Most college students spend the majority of their money on things like food and housing. Scholarship athletes don't have to worry about that. Their housing is free. Their meals are free. Even their books are free. $2000 can go a lot farther when you have no bills or tuition to spend it on.

[RobertR]

I made more than $2,000 working summers in the 1980s. Heck, we pay our engineering interns more than that for a summer. Granted, I consider tuition, books, and board to be payment, but I think the bar should be higher than basic minimum wage for a college student if you're going to pay them at all.

 

Robert

[dadofandrew]

It seems like I recall some sort of "laundry" stipend for athletes, a minimal amount, like $15 a week.

[RightFieldCoder]

The Cowboys had to share their profits with lesser teams like the Packers.

 

This has nothing to do with your overall point, but is this statement based on fact, or is it an assumption? Just wondering because based on the Packers' popularity nationwide, I'd almost guess they'd lose more to revenue sharing than they'd gain from it.

I used the past tense of "had" to refer to the late 80's early 90's when the Cowboys were buying the best players. Then revenue sharing and a salary cap (two things that would not be tolerated in the general American economy) "evened the playing field" and allowed the Packers to survive. Winning breeds fans, so now the Packers can generate plenty of their own income.

I don't want to debate the revenue sharing/salary cap in sports. I was just pointing out that sports economies are granted exemptions to work as closed markets. So the fact that most American workers are able to go out and get as much money as possible doesn't relate to college athletes. Even if football players make it to the pros, there are restrictions on how much they can earn (salary cap).

 

[paul253]

It seems like I recall some sort of "laundry" stipend for athletes, a minimal amount, like $15 a week.

If that is true that's a little weird. Who spends $15 a week on laundry?

[1992casey]

I believe that Al's using the term metaphorically. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[LouisEly]

It seems like I recall some sort of "laundry" stipend for athletes, a minimal amount, like $15 a week.

 

If that is true that's a little weird. Who spends $15 a week on laundry?

One load of whites, one load of colors, one load of bed sheets, one load of towels, $1 for the washing machine, $1 for the dryer = $16.

[Glennron]

It seems like I recall some sort of "laundry" stipend for athletes, a minimal amount, like $15 a week.

 

If that is true that's a little weird. Who spends $15 a week on laundry?

One load of whites, one load of colors, one load of bed sheets, one load of towels, $1 for the washing machine, $1 for the dryer = $16.

I think you're overestimating how often college students to laundry. Especially towels and bed sheets. I was proud if I washed my sheets more than once a semester.

[Point Beer Is Best]

The Cowboys had to share their profits with lesser teams like the Packers.

 

This has nothing to do with your overall point, but is this statement based on fact, or is it an assumption? Just wondering because based on the Packers' popularity nationwide, I'd almost guess they'd lose more to revenue sharing than they'd gain from it.

The Packers pay into the current revenue sharing system (they currently have very high revenues and no debt, while the Eagles, Cowboys, and Texans are highly leveraged). I'm unsure of Robin's assumption that they were on the receiving end of revenue sharing in the 80's and 90's because despite the general awfulness of the team, they did sell out their games and had maintained their nationwide appeal (and I'm unsure of when revenue sharing began exactly). The last time the Packers were seriously threatened in an economic sense was before Lambeau Field was built in the 50's, when the NFL basically told them they either had to build a modern stadium or relocate to Milwaukee. Based on other posts I'm certain that Robin dislikes the Packers a great deal, so I'm just assuming this was him taking a jab at the Packers, especially with the "lesser" comment thrown in (apparently the team with the most World Championships is somehow "lesser" to the Cowboys in his eyes). Robin's point would be more relevant to when guys like George Halas and Wellington Mara took steps to ensure the survival of the team. Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder would crush them if given the chance. Hooray for NFL socialism!

[BrewersSuperCollector]

I think when he refers to revenue sharing he means that all of the TV reveune gets spit equally. Most of the players salary comes from the TV contracts.

 

Remember when Jerry Jones wanted Pepsi to endorse the Cowboys and the league said no way.

[Baldkin]

It seems like I recall some sort of "laundry" stipend for athletes, a minimal amount, like $15 a week.

 

If that is true that's a little weird. Who spends $15 a week on laundry?

One load of whites, one load of colors, one load of bed sheets, one load of towels, $1 for the washing machine, $1 for the dryer = $16.

Clearly, you're not a math major.... 4x2=8 :-D

[RobertR]

What, they're not taking their suits and shirts to the dry cleaners every week? I'm shocked, shocked I tell you.

 

Robert