To Pay or Not to Pay: Part I

To pay or not to pay, that is the question, so what is the answer? I’m afraid there is no clear cut answer, more of a matter of opinion, but depending on where you stand on this upcoming topic of discussion, I do not believe things are going to change any time soon.

College football has been the corner stone of sports, the college experience and some might even say the American life style for generations. For more than 100 years, college football has prevailed as one of the most popular sports in the world. It earns high praise year in and year out with its many games, devoted fans and talented and extremely hardworking players and coaching staff. 

But are all things equal on both sides of the ball? Your BQB says no. And here’s why.

Time and Energy

Being a college football player requires an absolutely incredible amount of time and effort.

It is suggested that a typical college student take 12 credit hours a semester. That boils down to 4 classes. It is recommended to study 2 hours per every 1 hour you spend in class. Meaning a typical college student – not playing sports – spends up to 8 hours a week in class and studies 16 hours outside of class.

Add those 24 hours on top of football practice, preparing for games and playing those games, I would venture to say that a college football player probably trains and works out for at least 40 hours a week. And they must maintain a certain GPA to continue playing on the team.

A college football player works roughly the same amount of time as an adult with a full time job.

No Spending Money or Free Time

A normal college student living in the dorms typically has a part time job to pay for things like gas, phone bills, and of course – food.

Did you know that college football players are not allowed to work? That’s right, they are not allowed to get a part time job on the side for said costs above.

Recently, the NCAA has tried to amend this ever so slightly, by issuing a stipend to these football players with a $300 allowance. For the sake of argument let’s say this allowance is issued monthly.

$300 a month is anything but generous for their time and energy. What if he wants to take a girl out on a date? Forget it!

All Work No Profit

The amount of money that schools make from every game played is an enormous amount - not to mention the amount they make from a bowl game (which is absolutely staggering).

Baker Mayfield, former Quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners (and one of my favorite college football stars) sported the #6 jersey which is sold all over Norman, Oklahoma – and plenty of online retailers. The cheap jerseys are roughly $30.00-$40.00. 

The jersey for Deshawn Watson, quarterback of the 2016-2017 Championship Clemson Tigers team is currently priced at $119.95. 

Players like Mayfield or Watson rake in the revenue for their schools and will never see any profit for themselves. 

In addition to game revenue, colleges profit off video games that feature these players as well.

For professional players in the NFL, every Madden Football game sold cuts them a royalty check for use of their likeness and image because it goes to the team. The team pays them for playing.

In college football however, not a single NCAA football video game has been released after the year 2014 because somewhere along the line, college players started asking video game companies like EA Games to pay them royalties for their likeness from each school. 

There has been a recent development in California where a bill is being presented, where a player will be able to be paid for instances such as autograph signings, the use of their image and likeness in things like video games. This sounds like a solution to the problem, but is it possible that more problems could be caused by this bill? If California manages to pass this bill and players attending California schools can accept payments for those instances, then the NCAA will have a choice to make. They would have to either change with the times and allow all schools within the NCAA to allow their players to be paid for such activities, or they will have to kick California out of the NCAA. Think of the strong and unfair advantage that California would have over the other 49 states in recruiting if they could boast being home to the only schools where you can get pay for play - but that is another blog entirely.

These three arguments sum up what I believe to be fair and just for college football players who are making their schools money and fame.

A school, especially a big football school such as OU, Notre Dame, Alabama or Clemson could easily afford to pay their players at least the equivalent of what they would make slinging those pizzas or working at the local Walmart, we are talking minimum wage here, between $800.00 to $1000.00 a month.

I think it’s a bum deal, that  coaches like Lincoln Riley, Nick Saban, Dabo Sweeny and Jimbo Fisher make seven figures a year, while normal professors/teachers/instructors make hardly a portion of that and the players make absolutely nothing when they’re the ones scoring the touchdowns and drawing fans to the games.

One of the reasons that people prefer college football over the NFL, is the passion college players have for the game. Yes, he may get into the NFL someday, where he will make millions of dollars, but right now, it is for the love of playing football.

You may disagree with your BQB on these points but in my next blog I will address the other side of the coin and some arguments against the points I’ve made.

Stay tuned.