Should College Football Players Be Paid

This subject has been kicked around for a while. On one hand, they are risking life changing injury while their university profits from them. On the other hand, they receiving a free education and, an opportunity to prove themselves to the NFL. So, hmmmm....what do you think about this?

I agree they are given the opportunity to get a free education; they also don't pay room and board. That said, perhaps they should be entitled to a share of the money made off of their likeness (jerseys, video games etc).

Ordinary students with scholarships who work jobs on campus get paid.

College athletes put in a LOT of hours on behalf of the universities they play for, enough to be detrimental to that so-called free education they get.

They are recruited with neither the university nor the student being concerned about the part of them being students.

Its about bringing in money for the universities.

They bring in massive, massive, amounts of money to the universities. They should get part of it.

Especially since almost none of the money brought in through collegiate sports actually goes to the main mission of universities: educating students.

Thanks for your input. I'm kind of torn over it. The fact that they risk so much injury makes me think that taking the middle road, as you have is the right course. They should be entitled to proceeds from the University profiting from their likeness, one way or, another, beyond the scholarship.

I agree. Something, other than what is going on now, should be done. Factoring in their risk to life changing injury and, they really out to be compensated somehow.

The question is more subtle than this. Is it only about football, or is it both the big money ncaa sports (football and basketball)? What about college Hockey, which is much mote dangerous than basketball? Does it extend to any University athletic program that actually makes a profit in a sport that generally doesn't, such as UConn women's basketball, or is it limited to specific sports rather than programs? Is the driving factor the danger or the amount of time kids put into it beyond their studies (in which case many more sports have to be considered)?

For football, is paying players a requirement of all programs at all levels? The FBS had 130 different schools in 10 different conferences (5 major and 5 smaller ones) but what about the 128 schools of the FCS or Junior colleges? Don't those players put in as much their time/effort and risk just as much?

Its very easy to focus on those star players at big programs who seem to be getting screwed by the system, but they are getting more than just an education... They are getting the highest level of training you can get for an incredibly high-paying career they wish to pursue in addition to the opportunity for a degree to help with the rest of their life after football.

I am not saying they should or shouldn't be paid, I just think the argument is usually made in the simplest terms that break down when you talk details and actual plans.

Yes, I can see that. While I don't have a strong opinion about it, my knee jerk reaction is that the risk of injury changes it a little. Yes, they are getting a free education, along with room and, board. One of the posters suggested that they should be compensated for when their images are sold. I'd agree with that. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming years.

That sounds like a good deal for the QB at Notre Dame, but what about the offensive guard at New Mexico State who blows out his ACL in practice leading up to the 1st game? He gets nothing in that model as nobody is using his likeness for anything.

So, where I have no problem with the idea I also know that if it is just that, then the desire to come up with a realistic model that addresses your concerns goes away once the "faces of college football" get paid.

You make great points. While I find this topic intriguing, I have more questions about it than answers.

I definitely think any football player on scholarship at a Power 5 school should be getting paid not to mention being allowed to endorse products etc and getting the money from that. These schools make a fortune off of football, the football coach is either the highest paid or second highest paid employee at the university ( basketball coach may make more depending on school) and it’s ridiculous the players get nothing. The truth is these schools don’t give a care whether their athletes graduate and they are there to play football with hopes of making the NFL.

The devil is in the details like who gets paid and how much but the NCAA line that the players are student athletes benefiting by way of a college degree is pure hypocrisy.

Great points. What gets me is the potential injuries they face. Their NFL career could be over before it gets started, meanwhile, the university has cashed in on them. Do you see this changing?

As an aside to the discussion, and not to sound like an apologist, I do wish to point out that major college athletes are provided insurance against catastrophic injury that ends their career while in college.

Doesn't help them walk without a limp from "old college injuries" when they are 50 or even cover them if an injury moves them from a #1 pick who plays for ten years to a 5th rounder who is out of the league within two... But, it does guard against the specific scenario you mentioned.

Again, I don't have a horse in this race. I'm not trying to argue for one side or, the other. It just seems that if a kid takes his knee out, all the while the university is profiting from him that he should receive more than an insurance policy. Maybe the policy is great and, close to what he would have earned in the NFL. Maybe he would have never made it in the NFL. So, I was just throwing this out for thought. My knee jerk reaction is let these kids make money off their names. Could be wrong.

... and I wasn't arguing for either side, just wanted to throw a piece of relevant data into the mix to say the "worst case scenario" is actually covered.

There are thousands of former college players of all levels who deal with things like arthritis from injuries suffered while playing who never even get a sniff of pro football (or have their likeness used beyond being shown while on the field during a telecast itself). But, those relatively anonymous players are actually not covered by what was passed in California or what others are speaking about in most cases.

First not many will make the NFL. Maybe 5%, 3%?? Maybe higher from the big time schools like Alabama, Clemson Ohio State etc but still a small minority of recruited athletes.

I don’t see it changing much. The devil is in the details. Unless you out right sign them to professional contracts based on talent and position coming out of high school it’s going to be hard to pay them. I can see each player getting a stipend and I can see where those who can get it will be allowed to keep endorsement money but that’s going to be a small number. I think every player who dresses in a jersey wearing a logo such as Nike etc should be getting something but the universities are not going to want to part with any of that. Their argument is the scholar athlete gets the a free college education but imo this is hypocrisy and nonsense.

In fairness to the schools football and men’s basketball is probably funding the rest of the athletic department so giving up money is going to take away from other sports. Still at the least football players should be able to profit from their name and likeness. It’s complicated.