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SPORTS

NCAA considers paying student athletes

Megan Harkey

After this step, on Oct. 29, 2019

editor in chief

the NCAA voted for the changes of

the act. Therefore, each national

One of the largest nonprofits

in the United States with a $1.1

Division (I, II, III) will have to make

their own rules for the act by 2021

billion-dollar annual revenue has

for it to be fully enacted.

never given a paycheck to their

“Obviously I was pretty excited,”

hardest workers. Since its founding,

senior Hayden Summers said. “The

the NCAA has had a strict rule that

NCAA is a billion-dollar industry,

amateur athletes cannot be paid

and they make a ton of money. For

outside of athletic scholarships.

athletes to not get paid is not right.”

Even though a scholarship can

Summers is committed to UNCbe

worth thousands of dollars,

Chapel Hill for baseball as a pitcher.

collegiate athletes believe that the

Even though this act has been

revenue they bring to their school is

well received by endorsers like NBA

worth more.

player Lebron James, many people

“I am for people being able to

are still not fond of the change in

make money in the United States of

the system. The original idea of not

America (because) we are a capitalistic

mixed economy, and if some-

paying athletes outside of scholarships

was to ensure a divide between

one is willing to give you money in

the rights of an amateur athlete and

exchange for whatever you’re able

a professional athlete; the Fair Pay to

to provide for them, you (should) be

Play Act shatters this wall.

able to get that money,” social studies

teacher Jim Thompson said.

“They’re already being paid so

much to play the sport, and that’s

Thompson played football for

why they’re there--to be paid in

one year at South Dakota State

tuition,” math teacher Jessica Estep

before realizing college football was

said.

not for him. Like others, he sees the

Estep played basketball at Iona

NCAA as a company that has used

College for four years on a full

the amateur athlete status to make

ride. As an athlete, she was given a

more money.

head start compared to the average

student. Athletes have gear, top

As of Sept. 30, 2019, the Fair Pay

to Play Act was passed by California

Gov Gavin Newsom; which was

meal plans, tutors, overseas trips

and other bonuses along with a paid

the first step towards the possible

education. This is all given because

rule change in the NCAA. It allowed

athletes devote all their time to their

athletes in California to profit from

sport and school.

their name, image and likeness, or

“People don’t appreciate that

more specifically, they can sign any

stuff enough, so throwing all these

kind of licensing contract that will

other things on top of these experiences

you get to have (is) pointless,”

allow them to earn money, and they

can hire an agent to assist them in

Estep said.

these processes.

11%

13%

76%

12 www.northwesthorizons.com

Graphics by Megan Harkey

On top of that, controversy could

arise out of this act. The difference

now between the athletic income of

a Division III sport and a Division I

sport, or a female and male sport is

already

seen

from

the

sidelines.

Division

I

schools

will

have

more

incentive

in

recruiting

since

they

can

give

more

money

on

top of a scholarship, unlike Division

III schools who cannot even give an

athletic scholarship.

“I feel like it could cause more

problems with recruiting, and it

could cause problems with team

chemistry if someone is getting an

extra paycheck and no one else is,”

Estep said.

Each athlete will most likely not

be getting the same amount of pay

from brands that may or may not

sponsor them, however this “unfairness”

can just be seen as the real

world.

“Capitalism isn’t fair, so it’s not

always going to be equitable, but

pro sports aren’t always equitable

(either), meaning the best players

make the most money,” Thompson

said. “That’s more of a discussion of

whether or not our capitalism is fair

more than if this particular thing is

fair.”

This inequality could benefit the

athletes by giving them a reason to

work harder for their team in order

to make more money, like any professional

athlete.

“I think it would be better to

have more money because (with it)

I would try to improve my craft and

my name would be out there more,

which means I would be getting better,”

Summers said.

Like in most businesses, the

motivation of the workers is money;

this is why professional athletes and

coaches can move from team to team

in order to capitalize on their salary.

The NCAA has always believed that

the motivation of the college athlete

should be the money going towards

their education and sports program.

The only reason athletes are there in

the first place is because their coach

chose them out of thousands and is

willing to work with them and the

team to create a name for the school.

“If your coaches (choose you)

and your team wasn’t there, and

everyone wasn’t working together,

then what are you?” Estep said. “The

program should get money because

your

coaches

found

you,

and

your

teammates

are

helping

you

get

better;

you

aren’t

the

only

one.”

Estep

believes

that

such

money from brand deals and even

jersey sales should go back to the

program that coached the athlete

to the top. Whether or not this act

is justified--it is in place for 2021.

The only thing left to change are the

rules surrounding it.

“(A rule that I would like to see is

for) athletes to not touch that money

before they graduate, so whether

you go to the draft or you graduate

there’s a chunk of money sitting

(there) for you,” Estep said.

This provides the opportunity

for the athlete to think about what

they can do with their money. For

example, they could use it for graduate

school or to fund their ability to

play professionally here or overseas.

A rule like this could also bring on

some controversy since professional

athletes don’t necessarily have to

wait for their money, so why should

college athletes have to?

“I don’t want to see any rules

whatsoever at all,” Thompson said.

“I think that the same rules about

paying non-athletes should be the

exact same as paying athletes.”

The power of the Fair Pay to

Play Act will be unknown until the

release of the rules for each Division.

Until then, athletes and schools can

only hope for the NCAA to be on

their side; whatever that may be.

“At the end of the day, it’s just

going to have to be something

everyone has to work on, like in the

professional leagues,” Summers said.

Infographics by Megan Harkey

The bar graph (top right) shows how many

hours per week the average student athlete

allots for each sport. These statistics are

from a study by Business Insider.The pie

graph (bottom left) illustrates the student

opinion on whether athletes should be paid

in college. The majority of the 87 students

surveyed agreed they should be.

March 2020

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