College sports are in full effect and fans are selling out stadiums across the country just to watch their favorite teams play. The players on these teams work their bodies to the max to be the greatest athlete possible. These athletes do not have time for a job to make a reasonable amount of money to provide the living essentials for a college student. Providing an amount of money to these student athletes should occur in college funds.  

The time these student athletes spend dedicated to their sport is how much time most people spend at a full time job. Various statistics have shown that many students spend roughly 40 hours a week working out and training. Schools require extensive hours working with coaches and teammates while attending classes, getting school assignments done on time and fulfilling other responsibilities. The time spent working for their future and ensuring success for their team is just one reason why student athletes should be paid. 

Student athletes have many reasons to be motivated to do great for their team, but think of how much harder these players would work if they were getting paid. The motivation to do better would skyrocket. The level of performance shown from these athletes would be greatly noticed by fans and coaches. Also, the stress of worrying about how these students will make money while the season is in progress won’t be a worry for them anymore. The amount of money given to these students doesn’t have to be a six figure paying job. An amount of money where these student athletes don’t have to stress about where their next meal is going to come from would make their performance and college life more sustainable. 

Many fight against paying student athletes because athletes get scholarships to pay for their college, but the average athletic scholarship is roughly $18,000 a year, which is barely a semester worth of college for higher up colleges. Only about 1% of student-athletes receive full scholarships, and roughly 46% of college athletes don’t even get a scholarship for college and are “walk-ons.” This means that they are paying for their whole college all by themselves while attending classes and working for a sports team. 

Student athletes obviously should not be making more than professional athletes. The minimum salary for a professional athlete is measured to be $16,000 in the United States. There should be a maximum salary for college athletes, but also a minimum. Also, some players should be getting paid different amounts based on their success for their team. 

It seems that while these student athletes put in the most work to make sure the game goes on they’re benefitting the least out of everyone. The stadiums are making money from the fans that come and watch the players. The coaches receive extravagant salaries. Now, this team is the coaches full time job. They are there just as much as the players are there. The importance of a good coach is a big determinant for if the team will be successful or not this season, but that goes the same for the players as well. There are also several different coaches doing different roles for their team and they all make an absurd amount of money. For example our very own coach for Nebraska, Scott Frost makes 5 million every year just for being the head coach. The money should be shared throughout the team, especially  with the players who are the main reason that team is successful.

In the future there could be a change to college athletes receiving money for the hard work they put into their team, but the effect towards these hard working student athletes should change quickly because as the years go on, we find more and more talented students who deserve more for what they put into the school they pick.