“I don’t have enough money to get these shoes. I don’t have enough money to buy that shirt. What am I going to do?” This sounds like something we would all say when we don’t have enough money to get something we want. I watched Sports Nation recently and read several articles on the computer on ESPN.com and other websites about “Should athletes be paid?”. I personally believe they shouldn’t and here’s why:
Athletes receive a free education. There’s nothing on this planet that someone could name that could beat receiving a free education in college. I’m over here paying for my courses out of pocket and athletes don’t have to pay anything because they’re already covered. A majority of athletes need to keep in mind that although they’re looking to go professional for whatever sport he/she is playing, not everyone makes it to play for a professional sports team. According to BusinessInsider.com, 1.7% of college football players go pro, 1.2% of college basketball players go pro, and 11.6% of college baseball players go pro. I’m not trying to crush anyone’s dreams, but athletes shouldn’t take the free education for granted. If plan A doesn’t work out, then what is that person going to do from there? It’s good to always have a Plan B. The point I’m trying to make here is that athletes wont be in debt once they’ve finished college. A regular college student like myself will.
Another reason why athletes shouldn’t get paid is because he/she receives free meals, tuition, rooming, and books. To me, I feel athletes are paid for. Some athletes complain that they can’t buy certain items. Well, that’s a way of life. In college, there’s going to be some things that one won’t be able to buy. To sum it all up, I feel some student-athletes need to seriously sit down and look at what they have. A full-ride scholarship to a major university is payment enough.