To Pay or Not to Pay: Part II

The wait is over. Here is the second part of your BQB’s To Pay or Not to Pay series.

Not to Pay Argument 1: Future Football Stars

All college football players make it to the NFL and get contracts worth several million dollars, right?

While some, like Baker Mayfield or DeShawn Watson did go into the NFL, many college players will not for many different reasons. Perhaps they never wanted to make a career out of it. Perhaps they did not get drafted are a lesser known, utility player who is just not that good for the big leagues. 

Does that mean they still shouldn’t be compensated for their time and effort? Should we only compensate the talented ones who will make it? To this BQB, this argument is akin to saying that a med student shouldn’t be able to seek employment during school and should be forced to focus purely on school, because they will likely become a wealthy doctor after college. Or a law student shouldn’t be able to have a job to get them through the grueling hours of law school, because they will be a successful lawyer once they pass the bar exam.

Not to Pay Argument 2: Football Scholarships Equal Compensation

Do several students get academic or non-athletic scholarships to attend an expensive university? Yes.

Do these students get to work at a part-time job to supplement costs? Yes

Do college football players get full ride scholarships? Yes.

Do these student players get to work at a part-time job to supplement costs? No.

In the real world, if someone was selling merchandise with my name and likeness and making boat loads of money off said merchandise, it would be well within my rights to receive compensation for that “intellectual property”.

Not to Pay Argument 3:  It’s Just a Game

As I’ve mentioned previously, a college football player’s time on the field is just a fraction of the effort that goes into being a part of a college football team. Not including the academic and social aspects of college life, college football requires an extraordinary amount of practice, training, exercise and even study.

Football is fundamentally a human chess match, with over 100 different plays and endless different outcomes. Everyone must know their jobs and their teammates’ jobs – no matter what position you play. Before a game, a team will study game films, go over plays and so many other preparations that I’m sure I am leaving out.

Not to Pay Argument 4: Free Travel

Any club or organization that is funded by a college and requires travel. Yes, those trips and expenses are paid for. But keep in mind just how much money the schools make off those away games and bowl games. 

If Oklahoma appears in the Peach Bowl at the end of the season, the revenue from that game will likely be around $10 million - some of that will be fairly distributed to the other schools in OU’s conference (the Big 12) and a portion will go back to OU - but none of it will see the inside of a player’s pocket even though they were the ones on the field. 

Think Tom Cruise doing Top Gun 2, doing all his own stunts and he sees none of the profits from the box office while the directors, producers and studios involved get all the compensation.

Does that make sense?

Not to Pay Argument 5: More Sports Than Football

It may seem that I am favoring football players over other college sports, but not because football is my favorite! There are some schools that do not put employment restrictions on student athletes that don’t play football – in which case, no they should not be compensated, because they aren’t required to focus more on their sport.

It really depends on how big the program is. At most schools that I know of, the football program is king.

If any student athlete – no matter the sport - is raking in revenue for their school or he or she is not allowed to get a regular job to supplement costs or their coach is making seven figures a year while they make nothing - then yes, every student athlete regardless of sport should absolutely be compensated for the time and effort they put in.

Not to Pay Argument 6: College Football Equals College Experience

I believe it to be an excuse made by those who like attending games, but give absolutely no thought whatsoever to what goes into making those games happen.

If you mean that it is the tradition of colleges to happily rake in the money while giving not a penny back, then I couldn’t agree more.

Alright, rant over.

Feel free to post your arguments for or against in the comments! I look forward to hearing them.

Talk to you soon