Question

The NCAA generates ~billions in revenue annually. The athletes that are the stars of the show do not see any of that money. Should NCAA athletes get paid?

Please develop arguments for both sides of the issue. The first part of the paper will present the issue and the requisite definitions and presumption. The second part of the paper should present a case for the advocate of the resolution. The third part of the paper will present the case for opposition to the resolution.

Here are a few sources I have found, debating the issue: U.S. News (Ed.). (2013, A.pril 2).

Should NCAA Athletes Be Paid? https://www.usnews.com/debate-club/should-ncaa-athletes-be-paid Edelman, M. (2015, January 06).

21 Reasons Why Student-Athletes Are Employees And Should Be Allowed To Unionize. https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcedelman/2014/01/30/21-reasons-why-student-athletes-are-employees-and-should-be-allowed-to-unionize/#34be05e88d05 Debate.org. (n.d.). Should division 1 athletes get paid? http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-division-1-athletes-get-paid

Answer 1

The NCAA or the National Collegiate Athletic Association is an organization that hosts athletes of various institutions, or even individual athletes. It also arranges for inter-college sports-programs in which millions of candidates get to participate. Starting out as a host for only 13 colleges, and under a completely different name, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States, was reborn as NCAA in 1910. Now the NCAA is the backbone of athletics for more than 1200+ institutions. With the passage of time the athletics program grew broader in its spectrum. Needless to say with increasing popularity, sponsors raced to be a part of NCAA programs and revenues multiplied with every blink. The present-day world is more about advertisement and making a business out of every venture. The same happened with NCAA, spurring a debate on whether the athletes of the NCAA, who do not receive a penny, should get paid for their performances.

From the aforementioned introduction, the motion of the house reads as follows:

“The NCAA generates Billions in revenue. The athletes who are the stars of the show do not see any of that money. Should NCAA athletes get paid?”

Firstly, I would like to present arguments for the motion, or for the advocate of the resolution. The second sentence of the motion becomes the starting point and highlight of this debate. The athletes are unanimously referred to as the stars of the show. Their names are literally being sold, by using them on money-making merchandise bought by sports-fans. They are the reason why the NCAA is growing year by year. Their performances are what are setting the bar higher to aim with each passing season. If we took out the heart from the NCAA’s system, it would collapse into dust. For example, let us suppose that the NCAA acts like a company, where the athletes are its employees. If the employees perform well, the company’s recognition increases and as popularity increases, revenue starts to burgeon. But what if these employees do not get anything in return? Should they care about the company’s growth? Rationally speaking, no. And without the employees, the company is nothing but its name. No fame, no growth, no revenue. It’s time that NCAA recognizes the hard truth that if this goes on, it’ll not be long before workers get together against NCAA and demand to be compensated well.

Secondly, any kind of athletic activity involves a lot of injury related risks. There is no guaranteeing that a player will never hurt himself/herself so seriously that it might get difficult to make a comeback into this field altogether? Every risk taker should be entitled to compensation. The higher the risk associated, the greater should be the compensation. But here, let alone ‘greater’, there is no compensation at all! To the business world this gesture means nothing, but from a layman’s and a more humanitarian point of view, this gesture is unfair. The NCAA is stepping on the backs of young, promising athletes, risking their body parts-which are their only assets for their career. A footballer who seriously damages his/her leg will be seen as someone ‘less profitable’ to work with. Some of them have their scholarships confiscated, which force them to pay fees if they want to continue further. Where the athletes are being objectified, they deserve a compensation for their performances.

Thirdly, the college athletes for improving their acts go on practicing day and night, even by missing classes. Most of them keep academics away from their main focus and concentrate only on sports. This is taking away their chance to build any other well-paid career. Some of the players who come from financially weak backgrounds, are not able to afford necessities. They would be able to solve this with a part-time job, but the strict and lengthy training hours do not permit them to do so. Had they been paid by the NCAA, a lot of these issues would be resolved.

Lastly, we must not forget that the athletes are professionals while being a part of the NCAA. They are not amateurs that they shouldn’t be rewarded for their performance. This gesture of not paying them a penny is not only disrespectful toward the athletes, but also harmful for NCAA’s solid business base. As mentioned earlier, if the base crumbles when great players drop out, the whole of NCAA will fall like the London Bridge. Thus this payment should not be viewed as expenditure, but as an investment into NCAA’s brighter future. This is not merely a reward to the players, but a reward to NCAA itself for the long-run.

There are two sides of one coin. If there is a ‘for’, there has to be arguments ‘against the motion’ or in opposition to the resolution.

It is safe to say that if the athletes make up the heart of NCAA, the multimillion dollars sponsors are the brain to that system. It is because of these sponsors and ads, the NCAA’s growth looks so humongous. If the entities throwing money into NCAA’s athletic activities are taken out then 80 percent of all the glory and revenue fades away. If NCAA’s glory fades away, so will the popularity of the players. Without cool sports-merchandise and selling points, the athletes playing under the NCAA will be the same as amateur athletes. I’m not putting any grain of doubt into your hearts regarding their talent. The athletes are tremendously talented and they shine for their talent. But they also have to be given a platform to express their talent and the fat sponsors holding up NCAA acts as that platform. If the platform is big, well celebrated and well marketed, player will get their due fan-following. If not, not many people would know them. No player likes to play just for the sake of playing, if he’s professional. If that had been the case, they wouldn’t have come to the NCAA, in spite of not being paid in cash. It is only because the players themselves know that they are getting a good return on their investment that they stick with the NCAA for their growth. Had it been unprofitable for the players to go on without payment, they would’ve retracted years back.

Next, payment in cash is not the only form of payment one should acknowledge. A payment in kind is also very valuable, but often goes unnoticed. The players in NCAA do in fact get paid in kind through scholarships. These scholarships save the players, thousands of Dollars through their entire academic timeline with respect to a college degree. Their fee is waived, which is a huge reward in today’s costly academic world. They are getting a free education, plus a lot of scope to shine as athletes. Every talented athletes pretty much dreams for this platform to shine on. Playing under the NCAA will not only boost their resume, but also will up their chances to be absorbed into various well-known teams.

Lastly, in the eyes of many, the college athletes are viewed as students and not professional athletes until they sign a contract with any particular team. Also, most see sports as ‘extra-curricular’, stressing on education first and sports later. Thus, according to them, it doesn’t make sense to pay athletes in cash for an extra-curricular, in addition to the scholarships which they are awarded based on their talent. While this argument is not the most popular, it cannot be completely thrown away.

Thus, in conclusion, the athletes are the primary reason why tickets and merchandise are selling and revenue is multiplying. If they give a good game, people will pay for the next to watch it, but if they cannot perform well, not many will be interested. Thus, they should be well rewarded for it. However, one mustn’t conclude that they aren’t paid at all. They do in fact get paid in kind, and are awarded the most prestigious display-arena for their gift. Since the NCAA is flourishing better with every passing year, they must be giving the right kind of incentives to the players for them to give their bets and keep the NCAA flag flying high.