Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The ongoing and never-ending argument over whether or not collegiate athletes should be paid leads to no definitive answer. I haven’t heard an idea (or come up with one myself) that warrants anything close to a second thought. After all, I like to think watching Hard Knocks on HBO this year and Googling “Darrelle Revis contract holdout” has made me into somewhat of a pundit myself.
After all my extensive research, there’s only one logical answer: it can’t be done. Why? It won’t work. There’s not a single way you can justify it. And there are three big reasons why.
1) Negotiating 101
Imagine that, in fact, college athletes do get paid. Contracts would replace letters of intent and picking an agent would be just as important as picking a school. If a freshman outplayed the “contract” he signed out of high school, it would open the door for negotiations exclusive to professional sports. If we started paying athletes in college, the business of it all would rival the importance of college, the reason why these teams exist in the first place.
Think about it: if you really want to turn it into a business (which is what paying these athletes would amount to), wouldn’t a holdout be inevitable in college?
“Sorry coach, but I’m not going to Western Civ unless I get a bonus.” Ridiculous? Not in that world.
2) History is against it
For now, the only compensation student athletes receive for their services is a scholarship.
Right?
The likes of Dez Bryant, Reggie Bush and LeBron James have felt the repercussions of toeing the line between amateur and professional. The culture we live in today isn’t conducive for such a change as paying an 18-year-old more than his or her tuition. There’s no precedent for the kind of radical transition the NCAA would have to make in terms of regulation of and punishment regarding paying student athletes. The government’s interest in changing the college football postseason format should tell you how much the NCAA likes to change.
3) At what cost?
Big-time athletic programs such as Kansas basketball, Florida football and the likes make a staggering amount of money for their schools. Ticket sales, concessions and other legitimate businesses thrive on the support fans give to their teams. And for now, the universities have their say in where that money goes after its made. And simply put, there just isn’t enough left to give to the athletes. That means the money allocated by the university would have to include athlete’s wages, taking away from another university program. Entire institutions would have to re-format their budget to adjust to a decision based on one part of that institution? That won’t happen. Then what? Private donations are out, not in this economy. I know I’m not okay with more expensive tickets so these guys and girls get paid. Not after Northern Iowa.
It’s not even a question of how much money to pay them, however. It’s a question of whether or not the NCAA wants to open its doors to even more scandals, sanctions and wrongdoing. John Calipari is just one example of the corruption that can infiltrate college sports, and there are already too many like him. Introducing student-athletes into the business side of sports leaves college sports vulnerable in too many ways.
— Edited by Tim Dwyer
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