@nicdestef[/author_info] [/author]
As Americans, we have the convenience of turning on our televisions and seeing #1 Ohio State, geared up in their black jerseys, beat the Penn State Nittany Lions. We can watch JT Barrett throw a jump pass for a 5-yard touch down to Braxton Miller, making the score 31-10 midway through the fourth quarter. The crowd celebrates and chants “J.T.! J.T.!” while we cheer on from our couches.
However as college football fans, we typically do not see the blood, sweat and tears each and every one of these athletes shed in order to play at such a high level of competition.
On average, college athletes dedicate 40 hours a week to their respective sport. Their day may consist of reviewing film to strategize for their upcoming game, running repeat 400-meter sprints on the track, spending time in the trainer’s room to keep healthy, or stepping onto the field for game day—all in addition to going to class and completing homework.
“For seven months out of the year, football players put in usually about five to six hours a day on top of going to class,” said Boston College football player, Connor Wujciak.
According to Mark Emmert, the president of the NCAA, athletes “are students, not employees.” The NCAA claims that students cannot be paid because they are amateurs; all students are required to sign a manual of rules that reinforces this idea.
Sport tournaments, like March Madness, are billion dollar enterprises that do not pay athletes a cent. The NCAA and individuals against paying college-level athletes, claim that student-athletes are being paid with an education.
“The problem is when there isn’t any compensation from the schools at all because as football players we’re required to be here all year, so there’s no money at all,” Wujciak said. “Getting a job is futile because you wont have time. Summertime internships are also pretty much out of the question. I would say if we didn’t have to be at school during the summers we wouldn’t need money but since we are and there is no time to get a job the players need to get something.”
But what happens when a “student-athlete” sustains a career-ending injury and in return loses a scholarship, and in some cases his or her education?
Kyle Hardrick was recruited to play basketball for the University of Oklahoma, but quickly lost his scholarship after a knee injury ended his dreams to play at the Division I level. With medical bills adding up, Hardrick’s mother no longer could afford her son’s tuition.
“If it was workman’s compensation, my son would have been taken care of for the rest of his life, said Valerie Hardrick, Kyle’s mother. “He would have been able to finish his college.”
Not only are athletes at risk of losing their scholarships every time they step on the field, court or the track due to injury, but they also can be cheated of a good education. A study showed that at the University of North Carolina, football and basketball players were steered into taking “paper” classes that would boost their GPA and allow them to be eligible to play their respective sport.
According to a report commissioned by UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Fort, more than 3,000 students took “paper classes” which had minimal or no teaching and lenient grading for easy assignments. Many of the students were student-athletes at the school.
The NCAA generated $989 million in the 2014 fiscal year, according to an audited financial statement cited by USA Today. With expenses taken away, the NCAA ended up with approximately $80.5 million for the year. Emmert claims that only 14 schools out of the 1,100 had a positive cash flow in the most recent fiscal year. While many departments barely break even, many colleges quickly spend the money they make in order to make it look like they are not making too much money. Top Division I schools typically spend money on their facilities and stadiums, or their million dollar coaching contracts.
“Schools quite often move around or spend money to basically get rid of excess revenue—what would typically be called profit in a profit-making corporation,” Michael Leeds, a professor of economics at Temple University told the Huffington Post. “[That’s why] you have several coaches [in the NCAA] getting paid NFL money, despite working for an enterprise that really does not match what the New England Patriots and the New York Giants taken in.”
“As nice as it would be to get paid for all of the time and effort we [Georgetown Men’s Soccer Team]
put in, we aren’t necessarily bringing in the revenue that a state school’s football/basketball team may be,” said Jonathan Azzinnari, a member of the Georgetown soccer team. “However, our basketball program is sort of the level of having high profits for the school, but not compensation for the athletes. Is it fair for certain sports teams to only get paid? I don’t know. I think that the top football/basketball teams that are bringing in millions because of their athletes should be responsible for repaying them. I do not think its fair for them to see nothing, because I’m sure if you did the math for a program like Duke basketball, each player would be worth a lot of money.”
With such a large annual income, should college athletes still be considered amateurs? “They’ll get rich when they go pro,” is a statement that is often made to defend not paying student-athletes. If you look at the statistics, less than two percent of college basketball and football players make it in the professional business.
“I think athletes should definitely be paid,” shared a former Division I football player and current NFL free agent who would requested anonymity. “The amount of money that universities, coaches, administrators, and the NCAA make in both endorsements and TV contacts is way too high when simultaneously the people who fuel the marketplace do not have anything to show for it.”
We may question this decision when we hear stories of outstanding athletes losing scholarships due to injury, when the NCAA’s annual fiscal report comes in, or specifically when a high caliber college athlete, Shabazz Napier, shares with reporters.
“Sometimes, like I said, there’s hungry nights where I’m not able to eat and I still got to play up to my capabilities…There are hungry nights, that I go to bed starving,” Napier told Fox Sports.
With the NCAA generating such large amounts of money (March Madness alone typically generates more money than the Super Bowl), it is troubling for some to understand how student-athletes do not see any of this money.