Report: Pay for play

**cyman05** · 09-12-2011, 05:13 PM

Report: Top college athletes worth 6 figures - College Football - Rivals.com

The average fair market value of top-tier college football and men’s basketball players is over $100,000 each, and the athletes are entitled to at least a portion of that, a new report from an advocacy group argues.

A national college athletes’ advocacy group and a sports management professor calculate in the report that if college sports shared their revenues the way pro sports do, the average Football Bowl Subdivision player would be worth $121,000 per year, while the average basketball player at that level would be worth $265,000.

Huma and Staurowsky argue that the players should receive a portion of new revenues, like TV contracts, to be put in an “educational lockbox.” Players could tap those funds to help cover educational costs if they exhaust their athletic eligibility before they graduate—or receive the money with no strings attached upon graduating. They also propose that athletes be free to seek commercial deals, such as endorsements, with some of the money from that going to the lockbox, and the rest available for the athlete’s immediate use.

They also say that schools should pay for costs beyond the tuition, student fees and room and board covered by athletic scholarships. The report calculates the shortfall for the full cost of attending college—when things such as clothing and emergency trips home are added in—at $952 to $6,127, depending on the college. That leaves students on full athletic scholarships living below the poverty line at around 85 percent of the schools, the report claims, by comparing the value of the scholarship’s room and board to the federal poverty guideline for a single individual.

The report calls for action from Congress to achieve some of these goals, arguing that federal intervention is necessary because college presidents aren’t in a position to take meaningful reform. The NCAA, which puts the athletes’ amateur status at the center of its mission, would oppose much of what the report proposes.

The report said that players at the most powerful programs are worth far in excess of even the average athlete. The report estimates that Duke’s basketball players are worth the most, at around $1 million each, while Texas’ football players top that sport at $513,000 each.

**Stormin** · 09-12-2011, 05:16 PM

Dumb idea. Players should not be paid. For schools that cheat like OSU, USC, and others, fine them, revoke scholarships, etc. If they continue to cheat then give them the death penalty ala SMU.

**Aclone** · 09-12-2011, 05:25 PM

Amazing coincidence--since their scholly is worth six figures...

**alarson** · 09-12-2011, 05:30 PM

Scholarship for out of state student- 25-30k
Elaborate facilities costing tens of millions for the usage of 30-100 students a year- another several thousand per student averaged over the lifetime of the buildings
Special academic assistance available to athletes- thousands more
Athletic training facilities and staff that build players to their full potential (giving them shots at much more money). $$?

**tm3308** · 09-12-2011, 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by Aclone

Amazing coincidence--since their scholly is worth six figures...

Those scollys are worth 6 figures over the course of their 4-year stint. The numbers this report shows are PER YEAR. So a Texas football player, on average, is worth $2 million+ to The University of Texas.

**crash_zone** · 09-12-2011, 05:55 PM

Essentially, college bball and football is the minor leagues for Pro sports. If college athletes wish to get paid, they can go play for the Pro's (or some version of the minors) instead of going to college. I'm tired of them making a mockery of a college degree!

**cyrocksmypants** · 09-12-2011, 06:15 PM

I'm so sick of this argument. I don't care how much the schools make off of athletics, the student is getting a free education. It really pisses me off as I'm writing my monthly check to pay for the 30,000 dollars I owe in student loans still when I hear people act like athletes get nothing out of it.

**Clonehomer** · 09-12-2011, 06:26 PM

No one is forcing them to play college sports. The fact that they are not getting "market value" shouldn't be a surprise to anyone other than Cecil Newton. If they don't like the system, go play somewhere else.

**cyman05** · 09-12-2011, 06:27 PM

If I was a wrestler, cross country runner, or golfer, I would be super upset to see the football or basketball player sitting next to me in class making $25k a year in addition to his scholly.

Or I'd be super upset too if I went to UNI and I just got a scholly, but playing all the players on a FBS team would get getting $25k a year plus a scholly.

Where do you draw the line at which teams get to pay players and which don't get to pay players? Where do you draw the line at which sports get to pay players in addition to a scholly and which don't get to get paid?

**BasedClone** · 09-12-2011, 06:30 PM

There was a good South Park episode last season that covered this issue. The creators are pretty libertarian (which is why I love SP) and they hit the nail on the head. The athletes should get paid! Free education? Nope. Free tuition? Yes. Let's face it, a ton of these athletes aren't really here for an education, it's only a guise and they get spoon fed all the way through college while being a "Communications" major.

**BasedClone** · 09-12-2011, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by cyman05

If I was a wrestler, cross country runner, or golfer, I would be super upset to see the football or basketball player sitting next to me in class making $25k a year in addition to his scholly.

Or I'd be super upset too if I went to UNI and I just got a scholly, but playing all the players on a FBS team would get getting $25k a year plus a scholly.

Where do you draw the line at which teams get to pay players and which don't get to pay players? Where do you draw the line at which sports get to pay players in addition to a scholly and which don't get to get paid?

They should already be upset at the current state of things! Those athletes aren't in revenue generating sports, so they already won't get the perks like the football or basketball players do in the current setup.

I've seen how these athletes get treated numerous times. Example, in a Geology 100 final a player got caught switching test forms so he could cheat off of his buddy next to him. TA comes up immediately and says in a whimpering voice, "Oh I'm sorry but the tests must have gotten mixed up!" No... He saw exactly what happened, but if that was you or me, we get a F in the class!

My point is that we should stop pretending that these athletes are here for an education! What a joke...