Imagine if the NCAA never revised their rules. Short-shorts would still be a thing, dunks would be banned, leather helmets would be worn, and so much more that we do not even think about. It is time for the NCAA to look at itself in the mirror and realize that it is time to pay the college athletes.
This has been a debate for decades and as the years progress, more scandals and more suspensions of players light up the sports news world.
Every year the NCAA loses players either as one and dones –– which are players who play for one year then quickly leave for the pros –– or they go overseas. Last year, there were a handful of highly-recruited players that decided to change their path from going to college then the pros, to going straight overseas to play where they will be able to get paid.
Some players are beginning to notice this trend and skip out on their scholarships. According to SB Nation, “[Darius] Bazley got paid $1 million for an internship at New Balance instead of playing in Jim Boeheim’s zone defense.”
Hampton signed a five-year apparel deal with Li-Ning that he wouldn’t have been able to get in college. This just shows how there are tempting opportunities for players out there, and the NCAA just keeps declining their opportunity.
The NCAA is a multi-billion dollar company that makes so much from these players, yet does not allow them to gain anything from it. According to ESPN, in 2011 there was a contract signed between the NCAA and CBS to cover March Madness from 2011-2024. That contract was signed for $10.8 billion, and yet the NCAA wonders why so many athletes leave early or do not even go to a college.
I think a lot of people believe that the athletes we see on SportsCenter and the news have everything already, but that is not even close to the truth. Even though our culture looks at athletes like they are superheroes, we still need to realize that these are college kids that have to pay for their books just like every other student.
One story of the 2019-20 NCAA football season that sticks out to me is the one about Ohio State Defensive Lineman Chase Young. In 2018, the Buckeyes were playing in the Rose Bowl, which is held in Pasadena, California.
Young, being a college student, did not have the hundreds of dollars on hand that it would cost to bring his family to the game, so he borrowed some money from a family friend to take his family to the game. He then paid back the money in whole, but once the NCAA found out he received money, he was suspended for two games in the 2019-20 season.
It is time for the NCAA to evolve and pay their athletes; more players would then be eager to go to college.
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