Dear Next President:

Scholarships. Career options. Fame. What more could a college athlete hope for? I am a high school student in Albany, Oregon and I have a very strong opinion on the topic of college athletes getting paid. The issue is that many organizations are considering paying their college athletes high amounts of money to play for them. I believe that they should not be paid any money to play for their college teams. Many college athletes have already gotten their education paid for through scholarships; do they really expect to get paid more money?

College athletes are already, for the most part, getting most if not all of their college paid for through scholarships. In Division 1 schools, over 14 thousand male athletes and over 15 thousand female athletes get full ride scholarships. Some more statistics include: in Division 1 schools 56% of college athletes get some portion of a financial scholarship. In Division 2 schools, 61% of college athletes get some portion of a financial scholarship. Finally, in Division 3 schools, 82% of college athletes get some portion of a financial scholarship. As you see, the majority of student athletes already get paid money just for coming to play for a college, do they really need more?

In addition to the scholarships they receive, they are also paid back in more possible ways in the future. Whether the athlete goes pro, or they make a name for themselves and open up other job possibilities, they are creating potential jobs for themselves in the future. Being on a college athletic team shows employers that you are hardworking and diligent and, if you have good grades, it shows them that you can balance your life when you have job responsibilities. It also opens up possibilities for not necessarily a career as a pro in that sport, but a coach, or an announcer, or any other job in that field where you benefit from experience with that sport. Although the athletes may not be getting paid in their time as an actual athlete playing for their college, they may get paid back in the future with that experience that they develop.

The one last crucial argument that I have for college athletes not getting paid is an obvious one. Schools do not have enough funding to pay their student athletes. With all of the expenses that already come with running a college, they can't afford to pay hundreds of college athletes. Teams and colleges have to prioritize their money, and they won't be able to keep everyone happy with the tight budget that they probably already have. Not just the schools budget, but the individual teams budget as well. College teams already have to pay for new gear every so often, and along with other expenses such as paying their coaches and the cost just to operate a team, there’s no way that colleges can afford to pay their athletes.

As you review these points, you can see that there is almost no possibility that colleges will be able to pay their athletes money as they already pay to have athletes attend their schools, and they have to pay just to operate an athletic team. As I see it, it is unnecessary to pay the athletes. I ask for your support on this issue.

Sincerely,

Caleb C.