Cameron Trujillo December 8, 2013 Paying College Athletes: Whos team are you on?

In past decades the money in college sports has taken off. Ticket sales, TV contracts, video games, and merchandising. All of these things and much more attributes to the billions of dollars schools and the NCAA pull in each year in conjunction with these sports which are played by amateurs. However in recent months and years players have been crying foul, feeling they have been cheated. This brings up the question: Should college athletes be monetarily compensated for their playing? And if so how much should they be paid? It is right or is it wrong? If it is right, what is a fair salary? What other implications will this have on the sport and schools? Many experts have weighed in. Players have taken it to courts across the country. No clear verdict seems to be in sight. I guess in the mean time we all will just have to play ball and wait to see which side is going to win. Started in 1843 college sports have been a major part of American culture. Schools have benefited from the income these sporting programs bring into the school, while the players receive extremely discounted or free college tuition. Up to the modern era it has been a win- win situation for all. So what has changed? The fact that schools and the NCAA are raking in billions every year from these programs. And the players have noticed. In a recent court case a former player has sued the NCAA and the video game company EA Sports for using his likeliness and image to sell products and thus in turn make millions. As of July of 2013 this case was still ongoing and growing in publicity. A lawyer said after the summers hearing "We expect that when we appear before the trial court again this fall, the

defendants will have a very difficult time mounting a new defense for their blatant exploitation of student-athletes." ("Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Rejects EA, NCAA Appeal in Player Likeness Case." Business WireJul 31 2013. ProQuest.Web. 8 Dec. 2013) Since its being brought forth many athletes have come forward and agreed that since they are the reason for the profit brought in they should get a piece of the pie. However the NCAA has very tight regulations on compensation of athletes. Aside from scholarships no monetary or other benefits are to be used in either wooing recruits or given to current players. However some coaches have even jumped on the bandwagon wanting more incentives for their players. South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier repeated his view that players ought to be paid $3,000 to $4,000 per season. Twenty years ago, 50 years ago, athletes got full scholarships. Television income was what, maybe $50,000? Now everybody's getting $14, $15 million bucks and they're still getting a scholarship. (Cohen, Ben. "FRIDAY JOURNAL --Sports: The Case for Paying College Athletes --- the Issue is Gaining Momentum, but Nobody Knows how to do it; the 'Trust Fund' Model." Wall Street JournalSep 16 2011. ProQuest. Web. 8 Dec. 2013). The NCAA claims they do not have the means to pay all athletes. But does that mean the athletes cannot be paid? Alternatives that have been discussed is the NCAA adopting the same model as another armature sporting system. The Olympics. Olympic athletes are not paid to play in the renowned games. They are however free to sign their own endorsements. Shoe deals, milk mustache models, you name it. This could be an alternative to ease the impact the NCAA would see on its checking account. The argument here is thought that even this model would ensure all athletes are paid. Only those at the top, a select few, of the big sporting events would receive such deals.

Another suggestion that has been batted around is the idea of a trust fund being developed for each athlete and all the TV earnings would be put in this fund and then upon graduating the fund would be theirs. An end pay out for a job well done. The down side to this though is that it does not help them while they are living off ramen noodles in a tiny apartment while rolling coins to be able to go buy milk. ("Don't just pay students to play, pay them to study, too." USA Today 18 Jan. 2012: 08A. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.) The NCAA also argues that not all sporting programs make money every year. Some programs such as womens lacrosse operate at a loss each year and rely on high income sports like football or basketball to receive their funding. Should they be paid too? Equally? Others argue this: If payment was to be allowed not all schools could afford to pay the same salary. Is it going to open the door to bidding for athletes? From a competition stand point this would be a huge detriment (Nancy Armour - AP National Writer. "NCAA Won't Budge On Paying College Athletes." AP Top News Package (2013): News (AP, UPI, etc.). Web. 16 Nov. 2013.) Lastly another argument as to why payments are not a good idea is that it may take the college out of college sports. Young people everywhere will be going to college not to learn, but to earn. Emphasis will be placed on how much money can be earned and less will be placed on furthering education. (Plaschke, Bill. "PAYING COLLEGE ATHLETES AN UNEDUCATED DECISION." Pittsburgh Post - GazetteNov 21 2010. ProQuest.Web. 17 Nov. 2013). So should college athletes be paid to play sports? If so how? And will it be fair to all collegiate athletes? I say sports should be just that. Sports. Consider yourself lucky to play on

such a grand stage. Moving forward it seem as though this debate is getting more and more heated and we have a whole other half still to play to find out who will win.

Annotated Bibliography

Cohen, Ben. "FRIDAY JOURNAL --- Sports: The Case for Paying College Athletes --- the Issue is Gaining Momentum, but Nobody Knows how to do it; the 'Trust Fund' Model." Wall Street JournalSep 16 2011. ProQuest. Web. 8 Dec. 2013 Summary- The article is dominated by a story of two football powerhouses that are under NCAA investigation for alleged rules violations in which athletes were given cash, gifts and other services ranging from tattoos to wild parties on a private yacht. It compares and contrasts this with a recent study which found that the average full scholarship at a Football Bowl Series university lacks $3,222 in educational expenses, including everything from parking fees to utilities charges. The author explores alternatives to paying athletes such as a trust fund with just enough to meet minimum needs for attending college. Reflection- I liked this article because it is one of the few that shed light on possible ways that both the NCAA and the players could win in this ongoing debate. Ideas such as a trust fund that would be created for players that would be in an escrow account that increases with television rights and then at the end of the year players would have a payout if they met certain requirements. Another idea pitched was to adopt the Olympic model for paying amateur athletes and that is to be free market and let players sign endorsements for themselves. By NANCY ARMOUR - AP National, Writer. "NCAA Won't Budge On Paying College Athletes." AP Top News Package (2013): News (AP, UPI, etc.). Web. 16 Nov. 2013. Summary- The article examines the growing issue of paying college athletes and the NCAAs reluctance to pay them for their play. The author points out the growing desire among athletes to

be paid and the reasons it could be feasible. The author also explores the suggestion of alternative forms of compensation on top of their already generous scholarships. Reflection- This article was a good starting place and brings up some very good points in the debate of monetarily compensating college athletes. The reasons that support the idea are the money that the athletes bring in to the school and the need for living expenses on top of their scholarships. The NCAA is painted as a tight-wad organization that for the most part on an large scale has the means to compensate but on a school by school level it is not feasible for all to offer the same compensation. Steve, Berkowitz, @ByBerkowitz, and Sports USA TODAY. "Schools' deals with EA Sports scrutinized." USA Today n.d.: Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. Summary- This article is about the NCAA in some ways cutting ties with Electronics Arts the video game maker giant to avoid the legalities that have been forced as of late. Each year EA produces a new video game for college football and basketball enthusiast where they can play as their favorite teams and players in the conquest to win it all. As of late a group of players has band together to seek money from the company for using their names and likeliness to sell their merchandise. In the past the NCAA has had the rights to these things and has collected a share of the video game sales but as the article reports the NCAA had to cut ties with EA until recent court cases over who the money rightly belongs to can be settled. Reflection- This article is a pretty tell sign of how serious this war over compensation of athletes has become. Anyone who has played the games developed by EA or bought one as a gift knows how costly they are also how popular they are. This has made EA one of the most profitable

video game makers in the market and in turn brought a lot of revenue into the leagues and associations with which they produce for. Lewis, J. (2010, Jul). Paying college athletes is nothing but trouble. Sentinel. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/750545394?accountid=28671 Summary- This article goes into depth on another side of this debate and that is to answer the question of where do the payments stop if the NCAA allows athletes to be paid. Title IX is brought up which could be a potential deal breaker because it would make sure that women's college athletes, whose sports generally operate at a loss, get paid just as much as their male counterparts. Also the author uses statistics when showing that most student-athletes are never going to play professional sports, including big time football and basketball players. Reflection- This article, for me, calls an audible or changes the entire playing field for whether or not athletes should be paid for their contributions to the NCAA and the universities they attend. Some sports such as football and basketball make the school a good chunk of change but not all can claim the same thing. Other sports like water polo, swimming, or jousting do not make money. In fact most of these less popular sports operate at a loss each year. It raises the question: are all collegiate athletes equal in how much they should be paid? Plaschke, Bill. "PAYING COLLEGE ATHLETES AN UNEDUCATED DECISION." Pittsburgh Post - GazetteNov 21 2010. ProQuest.Web. 17 Nov. 2013 . Summary- Renowned sports columnist Bill Plaschke took on the issue of paying collegiate athletes by explaining why it is a big deal to sports fans and why colleges cant just give in. The under the table deals that have allegedly taken place in the not so distant past are visited and professors weigh in telling that these athletes are already paid more than they realize with a free

college education and they should be grateful. The article make the argument that if the colleges Pay the players, (then) it's class dismissed. Reflection- Even in my short experience I have seen how people who are involved in organized sports in conjunction with school focus more on their sport than their studies. To them it is a road block and time they have to put in to do what they really want and that is to compete on the field. Sadly if that is already happening now, it is not that far fetching that this idea that college would become more about being paid to play than to further ones education it not that far fetching. "Don't just pay students to play, pay them to study, too." USA Today 18 Jan. 2012: 08A. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. Summary- This article comes from USA Today from their opinion section so it is a collection of letters the paper received on the topic of paying college athletes. Not all agree on what should be done but each adds his or her take on the matter and why their suggestion is best. Reflection- One of the contributors to this post I found to be extremely helpful in finding a solution for this issue. His idea was to allow the NBA, NFL, MLB, and any other professional sports league that recruits from these colleges to step in and pay sports programs who would distribute the money to the players. This is a great idea I think, but I see it being hard to convince the major leagues to agree to lose more of their bottom line in a world where they already are doing well for themselves as it is.

Schneider, Raymond G. "College Students' Perceptions On The Payment Of Intercollegiate Student-Athletes." College Student Journal 35.2 (2001): 232. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

Summary- This article revealed the results of an investigation that was done by a survey method to analyze college students perceptions on additional payments, beyond an athletic scholarship, to intercollegiate student-athletes. Four components of college students' perceptions were examined: 1) Whether student-athletes should be allowed to receive payment and how it should be funded if it was allowed. 2) College athletes opinions on the subject matter. 3) College students' opinions if perceived illegal payments would decline if payment was allowed. 4) If college students believed an athletic scholarship is adequate payment. Reflection- This article was almost unlike any others I found on this issue because the arguments were not put together by so called experts or big wigs that have the power to call the shots. It was not put together by consulting a financial expert or an academic counselor at a university. It was a raw survey done among those who the issue would most affect. It was a compilation of college students ideas and wants for what they, who are closest to the matter, feel would be best for handling this situation. Lewis, Jason. "USC Gets College Football's Death Penalty." Sentinel: 2. Jun 2010. ProQuest. Web. 24 Nov. 2013 . Summary- This article outlines well the fall out that happened with Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and the University of Southern California Trojans. When Reggie played for them they were a football powerhouse and Reggie Bush was later taken first overall in the NFL Draft. He was considered by many to be the best player in the country and upon his leaving for the pros sources came out and told of his under the table compensations he received which are in clear violation of the NCAAs rules of paying players. The team was for the next few years punished and exempt from playing in any post season playoffs.

Reflection- This article is great to use to show the impact that the rules have on this sort of behavior. It was what is seen as the beginning of this issue being debated. There is a sort of bias in being g reported from a Los Angeles newspaper and the author seems to lean towards the notion of this sort of practice not being acceptable, this could be though because at the time it was a big scandal and this sort of view sold the story. "Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Rejects EA, NCAA Appeal in Player Likeness Case." Business WireJul 31 2013. ProQuest.Web. 24 Nov. 2013 . Summary- This article details the rulings in the court case in which EA sports and the NCAA were sued by players whose likeliness were used to generate income for companies. The plaintiffs in the case used the first amendment as an argument point. Reflection- I have another source for this case however it does not give the results in depth like this one does. It examines more closely the validity of the arguments used and gives the reader a good explanation as to why the court ruled as it did and really lays out the laws behind the argument.