The third set of individuals that make money off of athletes are the schools, mainly the athletic programs. Universities bring in hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars to their athletic programs each year. Through donations, ticket sales, media rights, and advertising these athletes are symbols for their school and their program.
The NCAA uses college athletes to make money, this is just another reason why athletes should be paid for all they do. Although the NCAA claims college athletes are merely students, the NCAA tournament schedules require the students to miss classes for nationally televised games that bring in revenue. The first and most important job of a student-athlete is to be a student, the second job is to be an athlete. If the NCAA is requiring the students to miss their first job, the students should at least be compensated for executing the second job. "Last year, the NCAA Division I football championship was played on a Monday night. That same year, the national football championship game required Florida State football players to miss the first couple days of spring classes" (Forbes, 2014). It has also been reported by Forbes Magazine that the annual NCAA men's March Madness basketball tournament affects more than six days of classes. This is truly madness if the players aren't considered employees.
It's not surprising that the college athletes may want to be paid. After all, they are just following the example set by their coaches and colleges in these big-money sports. Fred Bowen, a writer for The Washington Post said, "John Calipari, the head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky, makes $5.5 million a season. That's almost 14 times the amount made by the president of the United States" (Washington Post, 2014). Calipari is not alone. Seventeen college football coaches and seven college basketball coaches make more than $3 million a year.