In the year 2013 the NCAA reported that they made 10.8 billion dollars from advertising and ticket sale revenue (“Revenue”). That money can’t all be spent, so I think that some of the money should go to the college athletes that make them the money. With that money it might help them with financial hardships and other things that the world throws at them.

College athletes should be paid for many reasons and here is why. College athletes work more than non-athlete students. The NCAA has a regulation   regarding how long an athlete can train. The limit is twenty hours a week ("Should Athletes Be Paid to Play?").  But most athletes don’t follow that regulation. In a NCAA survey, they found out that most Division 1 athletes are training somewhere from thirty-nine to forty-three hours a week ("Should Athletes Be Paid to Play?"). On top of that the athletes also have classes and homework to deal with. Though, some people argue that all this is voluntarily and they are choosing to put their bodies on the line, but you also have to think about how are they going to pay for their clothes, their food, and the essentials they need to live? Are we just going to let our athletes walk around with no clothes? Are we going to let them live homeless? If we pay our athletes we won’t have to worry about those questions.

If we pay our athletes it might actually keep them in school. Though people might say they are being paid in the form of a scholarship, but with the talent they possess and being paid it might convince them to finish their degree. If they finish their degree it might actually benefit them in the long run. Think about it, if they don’t get drafted they will have a degree and not have to deal with the financial issues that will take place if they don’t get a degree.

Out of all the money the NCAA makes a year I think that some of that money should go to the athletes. Though, some people argue about whether the NCAA has the right not to pay the athletes because the NCAA pays for their travel expenses, their injuries, and their education (Nslabaugh). Think about it though, without the athletes the NCAA would be broke and have to shut down their organization. So basically the athletes are what makes them the money and I think they deserve at least a little portion of that money.

In the end I think college athletes should be paid. They basically work a full-time job with classes and homework. It might actually convince them to finish their degree. And they are what makes the NCAA money.

Works Cited
Nslabaugh. "The NCAA Budget: Where the Money Goes." NCAA - The Official Site of the NCAA. 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2017.
"Revenue." NCAA - The Official Site of the NCAA. 22 Nov. 2013. Web. 23 Feb. 2017.
"Should Athletes Be Paid to Play?" USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, 20 Oct. 2016. Web. 23 Feb. 2017.