How can we pay college athletes in a smart way?

[Phillycat]

They deserve something. The schools make millions off these kids, and it is they who have to put their bodies on the line every week/day. I heard a suggestion on our local sports radio that intrigued me:

You pay 10K a year (that amount is an example, that could be debated) to a college player, which is put into a trust. If the player maintains a 4.0 GPA in college, they received their monies at age 25. If they maintain a B average, they receive it at age 30. Etc. It would give the players a chance to put a nice little nest egg away and their own maturity would decide when they were ready to receive it.

I thought it was a good idea. What do you think?

[Squatch]

1. Pay them in scholarships.

[Phillycat]

4. They already get that.

[Squatch]

6. And that's all they should get.

[Phillycat]

9. See my post #8.

[MissMillie]

5. That's pretty much what happens now, right?

Not to mention access to professional scouts, right?

[Wcross]

2. You would figure the full ride scholarships would be enough. n/t

[Phillycat]

8. You think?

These kids are risking serious, career-ending injuries every time they go out on the field/court, injuries that could remove their chances to play in the NFL/NBA. They make millions and millions of dollars for their schools. Personally, I believe they deserve compensation for that.

[billyskank]

17. Why?

Why are these people special, compared to all other sportsmen and women? Seems like they get a pretty good deal already.

[Phillycat]

20. Because for better or worse, they create huge profits for their schools.

I know you're not American, so maybe you're not aware of the spectacle of the Bowl games, or the Final Four in college basketball. The championship last night was broadcast on Fox (who didn't miss a single opportunity to say "Fox", believe me) and sponsored by Tostitos. Both Fox and Tostitos had their names painted on the field at the 50 yard line. Think about that kind of money. These kids are away from school for away games for half their semesters. They have to pass their classes at the same time they are in the national spotlight and are juggling offers from NFL teams...or not. They are dealing with injuries all season long. They deserve something for putting their bodies on the line.

[billyskank]

25. If I was a gifted footballer (soccer) then I would have had to choose

between playing football or going to university. I would have made my way up through the ranks as I grew up and maybe hit the big time around 18-20 years. Every time I went out on the field I would be putting my body on the line, and any number of injuries could cut my career short before it even began.

In the meantime I would probably have wasted the years I could have spent by going to university to gain some other qualification. So why are your college athletes special? It's the way of the world. We're all being exploited all the time.

[Phillycat]

30. Because our kids don't have that choice.

Their only way to funnel into the pro system is through the college system (yes, some basketballers get drafted out of high school, but it's probably 1% of NBAers that didn't come out of the college system). If they want to play sports for a living, this is the only way to do it. And every time they step out on that field, they risk their futures - for MONEY, money they never see. Can you see the distinction?

[Squatch]

18. A fully paid-for education is not compensation enough?

Shit, MILLIONS of more deserving scholars don't get that kind of "compensation"

[Phillycat]

23. No it isn't. Because they are students (full time job) AND athletes

(also a full time job). They are working twice as hard as someone who is just going to school. They travel constantly, work out constantly, practice constantly, tend injuries constantly, and the money rolls in, yet none of it falls in their pockets. I think that is wrong.

[Squatch]

26. It's really sad when a free college education isn't enough compensation

for a COLLEGE STUDENT.

[Wcross]

31. They could go pro right after high school if they wanted to.

Otherwise they can use their full ride scholarship to showcase their talent to pro scouts. The compensation will come when they are noticed by the NBA/NFL and drafted.
How about paying high school players? Are they not risking serious injury that could remove their chances to play in the pros?

[Phillycat]

33. First of all...

The NFL does not allow players to go pro right after high school. The NBA does, but it is a tiny percentage. So your whole premise is off.

[Wcross]

34. My premise is RIGHT ON.

If it weren't for college sports they would never have the opportunity to get drafted and play pro ball. The schools that make millions from sports are also the ones that give the players maximum exposure to NFL scouts. Isn't that exposure payment enough, along with the scholarship? If they do end up getting injured they will still have a paid for education to fall back on.

[Squatch]

35. Absolutely.

:thumbsup:

[Strawman]

3. Who gets paid and who doesn't?

Only "revenue" sports? Only Scholarship players? Walk-ons also? It's a nice thought, and I agree that certain athletes create much more revenue than the value of their scholarship, but I can see alot of potential problems with it.

[Phillycat]

16. Yes, there are complications.

But the bigger problem as I see it is that nobody is trying to figure out how to work these complications out and get some money to these kids. The schools would much rather profit literally off the backs of these kids and let them founder if they're not drafted.

Last night we saw a true freshman playing at WR - 18 years old. How much money do you think Florida made off that game? You think that 18-year old kid deserves to risk a knee blowout or hamstring tear so that Fox Sports and fucking Tostitos and Univ of Fla can make another million?

[Strawman]

36. Yeah that's true

If these big schools can find another million for the football coach, between the universities and the networks who rake in advertising cash, they ought to be able to scrape together another million for a 10K annuity each year for the 100 or so players on the football team . It might need to be scaled down for smaller schools, I'm sure there's some formula they could use. It should be limited to the major revenue sports (men's football and men's basketball) or tied to TV contract revenue which might generate a smaller annuity for women's basketball players also.

I wouldn't even make the payout contingent on grades. It's the borderline academic qualifiers that are most frequently used and abused by the status quo. Cutting them out of the benefit for not getting good grades or not going on to graduate would seem to give the help to those who need it least.

[taterguy]

7. sounds dumb

A) If you're getting paid just based on your GPA then you'd take the easiest possible classes and get even less of an education

B) The underpaid TAs would be seriously tempted to sell grades

The millions that all college athletes make as pro athletes later is compensation enough. They all make millions of dollars as pro athletes right?

[SteppingRazor]

12. No, they don't. Most college athletes are not drafted n/t

[pokerfan]

48. I am reminded of the NCAA commercial

There are 350,000 athletes in the NCAA and most of them will be going pro in something else.

I would not necessarily be opposed to paying college athletes but consider this: A large number of football programs and a lot of basketball programs generate enough money to keep the other scholarship sports afloat. If it came down to an either-or decision regarding paying the football players I would have to vote for keeping the other scholarship sports. Sure, some schools could afford to do both, some wouldn't be in a position to do either.

I think the scholarships, private tutoring, room and board, training table, and being treated like a demigod for four years would be enough.

I would be in favor of reducing the number of football scholarships. It wasn't that long ago when it was an unlimited number. The rich schools could afford to have scholarship players on their scout teams, just so they wouldn't have to face these players on the field. Then it was reduced to 120 and now stands at 85. A lot of experts seem to believe that 75 might be reasonable and just might help a poor school keep another program afloat.

Allowing schools to pay football players would just increase the disparity between the have and the have-not schools.

[Phillycat]

14. Heh. Not exactly.

How many college athletes actually get drafted into the NFL/NBA? 10%? Fewer?

The first example that comes to mind is KiJana Carter. He was a running back for Penn State when Kerry Collins was there. They were great that year, losing only to Miami, I believe. Penn State made millions. But KiJana was too small to play in the NFL. He got drafted, way down there, and played a year or two, and his career was over. Does he not deserve compensation for the years he made a boatload of money for PSU?

[Zavulon]

27. No.

He's not the only one who made the team good. He got a free ride worth thousands and a degree, when other kids who came from where he did didn't have the chance.

As an aside, although Carter didn't do much in the NFL, it was largely because he tore an ACL in his first-ever preseason game. He did not "and played a year or two, and his career was over" - he was on an NFL payroll in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2004. Even at minimum NFL salary, that tends to add up.

His size had nothing to do with it, either - at 5'10" and 222 pounds, he was the same height and one pound heavier than a guy in San Diego named LaDanian Tomlinson (5'10", 221) who is doing pretty well and setting some pretty impressive records.

My guess is that Carter probably doesn't spend all day wondering where his next meal is coming from, but even if he had singlehandly defended Penn State from a Soviet invasion, in my opinion the free ride is payment enough.

[Phillycat]

28. We will have to agree to disagree.

And thanks for reminding me about the ACL tear, I had forgotten about that.

[JVS]

38. We must return possession of happy valley to mother Russia!

[SteppingRazor]

10. Allow them to major in football, basketball or whathaveyou...

then consider the sport to be field work. After four years of playing -- field work for which they are paid -- they graduate with a bachelor's degree in football.

See? It's that easy! :)

[jakefrep]

11. Get rid of the NCAA rulebook....

...or at least the parts containing restrictions on how college athletes can earn money.

I am not philosophically opposed to paying college athletes beyond a scholarship, but I know there's no good way to make it work.

[underpants]

39. The NCAA is corrupt itself

there is no oversight of them at all in anyway but yet they get to consider themselves a not-for-profit organization so they pay no taxes.

[Road Scholar]

13. Make sure they get their education. eom

[izzybeans]

15. I think the problem is that most schools do no make millions of dollars off of these

kids. Some of them run large deficits. Big name schools certainly make money but these kids aren't being exploited by their schools alone. Huge profits are being had in media markets for instance. And the games some of these big-time athletes play get caught up in market "heists" such as the one ESPN is pulling with ESPNU. ESPN is basically blackmailing (I'm sure there is a more apt word) colleges and local cable affiliates in order to get them to buy into the ESPNU channel. They do this by cherry picking the highest rated local games (claim they have a national interest) and put them on ESPNU (a channel in its infancy that is not provided by many local cable providers and if so at more than a nominal fee) so that ther is an a blackout on the local game. This will expand ESPN's market share and is in effect holding these kids captive (on screen) just to make a buck. Large media outfits can also pull cable contracts that are important for the operating budgets of athletic departments in order to keep a school in check. But hey, their amateurs right? Let them play while the rest of us eat cake, turn a buck, and get sloppy, mean drunk in the parking lot.

I never bought into the amateur crap. When we work so that others can profit we demand a wage. Why not them? But the question of fairness comes to mind, because not all colleges could pay a wage to the athelete because they lose money on sports already.

[Phillycat]

19. There would have to be some sort of system.

Profit-bearing schools would be responsible for paying their athletes. That way there's even more incentive to choose Ohio State or Penn State or Florida when deciding between scholarship options. It's not like it would hurt the school.

And I agree with you 100% about the "amateur" status.

[never cry wolf]

29. Not only that, pro sports gets a free farm system

The NFL and NBA should contribute something. A football played cannot join the NFL out of high school. An NBA player can but few do. These multi-billion dollar concerns are getting a free ride in player development.

[Little Wing]

21. The entire system is out of control

Salary cap the team manangement and expenses

[Zavulon]

22. Add up the cost of their scholorship and what it would cost

over the years in the form of student loans, books, dorm, meal, etc, and they get paid pretty well already. If they truly deserve to get paid more than that for their skills, the pros will come calling and take care of it.

[Phillycat]

24. See my post # 14.

[leftofthedial]

32. the usual way works fine--

hookers and cheerleaders, drugs, free alcohol, shills to take their tests and write papers for them so they get decent grades despite never going to class, preferential and deferential treatment, free-ride scholarships . . . college jocks do just fine as is

[Scout]

51. best post in the thread!

:rofl:

yes, they are very spoiled.

[JVS]

37. You're right! Let's raid the funds for scholarships based on scholastic merit so these boys...

have some money! :sarcasm:

[Phillycat]

40. Um, I really don't think they'll need to touch the academic scholarships.

Have you ever seen college football? They're self-sustaining, even if they paid the players FAR more than I'm suggesting.

Perhaps you should know at least something about anything before you comment? :shrug:

[Squatch]

41. Perhaps you should can the personal insults if you want to engage

in mature dialogue? :shrug:

[Phillycat]

43. I'm fairly certain I wasn't the one who broke the "polite" barrier in this

particular exchange. Also, why are you in it?

[Squatch]

44. Oh, so it's the "he started it" defense.

Let me ask you a serious question. Do you really think that level of discourse is befitting a mature person?

[Phillycat]

46. When did I ever say I was mature?

:D

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

42. here's an idea.

Take all that money that goes into coaches, stadiums, etc.- divert that into academics. Fund the football teams with pretty much the same amount of money you fund the ladies frisbee golf team.

And then the star athletes can go ahead and make money- by waiting tables or pumping gas, just like all the other students.

[Yavin4]

45. Pay Them for Post-Season Play

The scholarship covers the regular season, and they can adjust their class schedules accordingly. However, any post-season games should come with a small stipend.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

47. Maybe just give them room, board, and tuition

That seems like a decent deal.

Paying just opens up a can of worms. How much do you pay? Schools will recruit based on how much an athlete is worth? Or, do you pay all athletes the same? Which sports get paid? Just football and basketball? Or will we have to pay for rugby players, fencers, tennis players, field hockey players, boxers, wrestlers? What about gender? Pay only males? Or does Title 9 require an equal amount of money go to female players on the college golf team, swim team?

If the athletes don't like the deal, they can always quit sports and get a real job, like most or many college students. But from what I remember, the athletes at school seemed to have a better car than the average student. Even without getting paid :). Heck, some of them even showed up for class and got ok grades. I guess they knew they weren't NHL material.

[Scout]

49. they don't need pay, they are already spoiled. n/t

[swag]

50. Cancel their sports and hand them mops.

Several studies have shown the deleterious impacts of college sports on academia and education, once core roles of colleges and universities. It's well past time to divorce big-time college athletics from educational institutions.