The yearly salary of the Alabama's head football coach, Nick Saban, could pay for 1,380 stipends! These athletes are working hard, sacrificing their bodies and their free time to bring in money to the university day after day, but aren't rewarded with any real monetary value.Some even argue, "College athletes are being exploited by their schools, which make millions of dollars off of intercollegiate athletics" (Should Student-Athletes Get Paid?). Colleges are using these athletes to boost their respective reputations and bring in revenue while not compensating these athletes for their work. Everywhere else athletes are paid, so why shouldn't college students too? .
Even though this seems like a pretty basic argument to make, there are some objections that people make as to why college athletes should not be paid. People say that the phrase "student-athlete" describes collegiate-level athletes for a reason; they are students first, athletes second. Players are receiving an advanced education at universities and colleges that thousands of Americans can't attend. Plus, a lot of them are getting it on the dime of the university. Players are being paid to be student-athletes through scholarships that are awarded in correlation with a player's talent as determined by the coaching staff. They are getting the chance to attend some of the best universities in the world, sometimes for free, get access to world class facilities, and have the chance to play the game that they love. Some people make the argument that once college athletes start to be paid, they would become quasi professional athletes. .
The second reason that it can be argued that college athletes should be compensated for their work is because of the rising out of pocket expenses that the life of a 2015 college student has to undertake. Although some high-level Division 1 athletes receive scholarships which definitely help with tuition, many athletes having trouble with the cost of living that come with college since a lot of them come from low-income families.