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Should Athletes Get Paid

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Should student athletes get paid? COMM/215

The question of should student athletes get paid is an argument that is growing in debate in recent years. Mostly pertaining to college Football and Basketball. Especially when the revenue generated from these sports rival those of its professional counterparts. Some would argue that receiving a full athletic scholarship is payment enough. Or, student athletes are no different from any college student working their way through college. However, these student athletes are not guaranteed full scholarships and deal mostly the same pressures of athletes that make their living playing these sports. For example, a four-year scholarship is not available for student athletes, students receive one year renewable contracts which are at the discretion of the coach. “The current one-year deals are, believe it or not, renewable at the discretion of coaches, who can effectively cut injured or underperforming “student athletes,” as the N.C.A.A. likes to call them” (Nocera, 2011). Student athletes can be cut for anything from performance on the field to behavioral conduct, or poor grades. These athletes are not afforded special privileges however, unlike their working student counterparts, they make their school millions of dollars in revenue each year. “College football and men’s basketball have become such huge commercial enterprises that together they generate more than $6 billion in annual revenue, more than the National Basketball Association” (Nocera, 2011). Student athletes work hard with the continuous pressure of game performance, academic performance, and potential injury hanging over their head, as a reality of being both a student and an athlete. The students labor on and of the field and are a financial credit to their institutions. “Companies like

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