College Athletes\' Payment Issue Drags the Development

College athletes' payment issue drags the development of the game within the association (NCAA). The debate of whether college athletes should obtain payment for their services needs to rest by extensive solution. The perfect way to solve the issue at hand involves additional payment for the services of the college athletes. This would supplement the scholarships and accommodation fees university and college athletes enjoy currently. There are several reasons why college athletes should obtain payment for their skills and efforts while representing their institutions in the competitions. The first reason is that everyone in the sporting career enjoys payment and wages for their efforts. The second reason is that college athletes are human beings who need financial resources to satisfy their needs. Additional wages to the current scholarships and accommodation would address the economic strain facing the college players. Payment to the college athletes would also motivate the participants to maximize their potentials. Lastly, payment to the college athletes would offer source of income to the participants who perform under expectations when it comes to academics.

Everyone within the professional sporting activity enjoys payment for services and skills. This represents the perfect harmony in the professional sporting thus should spread to the lower ranks (college sports). The perfect solution for the problem at hand lies on the decision by the federation to provide wages to the college athletes. "What's more, the only authority remotely in a position to fix the current situation seems to want nothing to do with governing the sport. Division I -- A football is the one sport for which the NCAA is not interested in conducting a championship, yet it seems to find the time to make sure not one red cent makes its way into the pockets of the players, who are doing the work and taking risks. Scholarships are no longer enough when everyone else in the system is paid. It is time to give them a stipend of some kind" (Hamilton, page 1).

College athletes are human beings who have needs to satisfy. Their requirements do not revolve around academic scholarships and accommodations only. Some have rents to pay, families to feed, and relatives to educate. This financial burden calls for payment for the level of commitment they put to display their talent. College athletes apply extensive efforts and time while attending the daily training sessions. In order to maximize their efforts and commitments, it is crucial to pay the college athletes. College athletes should also enjoy the amount of revenue they generate in the process of participating in sporting activities. College athletes contribute large amount of revenue to the associations and institutions but enjoys little of the contributions. "College students also advanced that athletes should not obtain payment because of the revenue they generate. These supporters may be basing their perception on the amount of gross income athletic departments receive rather than net income" (Schneider, page 232).

Payment to the college athletes would offer source of income to the participants. It is crucial to develop legal means of revenue to the college athletes thus the institutions and associations should start paying the wages for the participants. It is clear that payment to college athletes would reduce the degree of illegal remuneration within the association. "Examination of results found that the primary reason advanced by students for supporting payment of athletes was that cheating, in the form of illegal payments, would decline. This indicates that college students believe, or are aware of, frequent illegal payments to athletes and are seeking methods to reduce the level of illegal payments" (Schneider, page 232). Payment to the college athletes should also provide motivational aspect to the sporting activity. Payment would reflect an appreciation of talent and skills of the college athletes thus encourages them to exert more efforts and commitment.

Payment for the college athletes is a growing proposal to solve the issue facing the sporting activities. Minimal trials characterize the solution in the past, but most proposals indicate that payment to college athletes is possible. It would not take longer than two to three months to implement with effective and efficient infrastructures in place. The proposal is possible because college and university institutions make much revenue from the sporting activities. This translates from contracts, gate fee collections, and television rights. About four-fifths of the total budget by the NCAA draws from revenues by the college sporting activities. "First, the revenue that the NCAA and some member institutions receive from television contracts and sponsorship agreements signify the prominence of professional and commercial enterprises. Since 1988, the NCAA has received in excess of $150 million per year from CBS for rights to broadcast the NCAA men's basketball tournament" (Schneider, page 232). This amount of money can help to solve the payment issue of the college and university athletes. Salaries and wages to the coaches indicate that the total revenue due to college sporting activities is a monumental prospect. Since college athletes generate a large portion of the revenue, it would be ideal to reward their contribution by wages and salaries.