Athletes Salaries Essay, Research Paper

As you sit at the stadium or in your home and watch college football,

basketball, or even baseball, do you ever wonder where the money goes from all

the ticket sales? Colleges make a lot of money from their athletics. I feel that

the profit that is made should partly go back to the student athlete. College

athletes should be paid for their participation in sports, since sports make a

lot of money for the college. A student athlete’s schedule is very hectic. There

are many activities that have to be attended daily. A student athlete is

expected to go to class every day, and later in, the day they are expected to

meet at practice, no matter what the sport. After practice, the student athlete

must eat dinner. Then, the person has to go home to their dorm to do homework,

which can last for hours. There is very little time during the day, to allow the

student athlete to get a job. Most of the time coaches will not allow the

students to work, due to schedule conflict, and it is also hard on the student’s

studies. If the coach doesn’t allow a job and there is no time for one, where

does the student get money? Student finances are very limited. Most of the money

that students have is from parents or student loans. Students need money for

food, gas and laundry. If a student eats three meals a day, it would usually

cost then about fifteen dollars. For a five-day week it would be around

seventy-five dollars. Usually, the student athletes do not travel much, so gas

expenses would be minimal. However there are those occasional trips home to see

family. The student also needs money for laundry. Laundry runs around five or

six dollars per week. Years ago, student athletes at colleges and universities

were given laundry money, which was twenty-five to thirty dollars a week. The

money could be spent freely. It was like an allowance that your parents would

give you every week. I feel that this little support would at least help the

student when money is hard to come by at home. With the financial help of the

college, a student athlete would only have to supply around fifty dollars per

week instead of seventy- or eighty-five A student would have less financial

troubles if they were compensated for athletics. If athletes were paid, they

could have a better start out of college. For instance, if the student athlete

has to get a loan during college because he or she has no money for necessities,

that student athlete has started to dig a financial hole. That hole will be a

burden to the student athlete when her or she graduates from college. Also, the

student athlete’s parents will not be financially troubled when the student

graduates from college. It would make it easier on student athletes and their

parents mentally and physically if student athletes were paid. Mentally, the

parents would not have to worry about paying the bills when tuition is due.

Physically, the parents and students would not have to break their back to work

overtime, or to have a job while in school, and play athletics as well. I feel

that student athletes have a lot to worry about. One is their grades; two is

their performance in games. I feel the last thing a student athlete should worry

about is how they are going to make money to pay for necessities, since the

student plays a sport that makes money for the college. Student athletes should

be compensated for their participation in athletics while attending college.