The Case for Paying College Athletes
The Case for Paying College Athletes: Addressing Exploitation and Fair Compensation
Introduction
College sports are not mere sideshow but a massive business that makes millions of dollars selling tickets, merchandise, as well as TV contracts. Each season, millions of fans who watch their favorite teams on TV fill stadiums. This leads to earning of massive profits by colleges, coaches, and sponsors. However, beneath all the glamour and excitement lies a less glamorous reality: student-athletes, whose abilities and diligence enable all of this, seldom receive substantial financial compensation. Scholarships are given to the majority of student-athletes, but they frequently fall short of covering the actual cost of living and the sacrifices that athletes must make for their sport. Since a long time, the NCAA has maintained strict rules against directly paying athletes. They assert that college sports will go ‘amateur’ once players do start getting paid. In fact, it is the schools, networks, and sponsors that benefit and not the players themselves (Haile, 2023). To add to this, many college athletes put in about 30-40 hours a week into training, travelling and competing. Due to this heavy schedule of events and competitions, many athletes cannot take outside jobs anymore and are struggling financially (Haile, 2023). Because of their time commitment, the unfair system, and the fact that they are the ones driving the money, student-athletes deserve to be paid fairly.
References
Haile, A. J. (2023). Equity implications of paying college athletes: A title IX analysis. BCL Rev., 64, 1449. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=h
ein.journals/bclr64&div=45&id=&page=
Follow instructions Fix the revised introduction and continue the first body paragraph with the feedback provided below Its entry level freshman in college essay so same format as in the introduction paragraph The outline of the essay is this I. Introduction
A. Hook: College sports bring in billions through ticket sales, merchandise, and TV deals, yet the athletes themselves rarely see direct financial benefits.
B. Background Info: The NCAA currently prevents college athletes from being directly paid, though schools and networks profit heavily. Many athletes dedicate 30–40 hours a week to their sport, which makes it difficult to work part-time jobs. Some statistics show that athletic programs at major schools generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
C. Thesis Statement: Student-athletes should be paid because of the time and effort they dedicate, the unfair exploitation in the current system, their importance in generating revenue for schools, and the financial struggles they continue to face beyond scholarships.
II. Body Paragraph 1: Time and Effort
A. Topic Sentence: Paying student-athletes is fair because of the full-time commitment they dedicate to their sport.
B. Supporting: Athletes spend 30–40 hours weekly on sports.
C. Supporting: Little time remains for jobs or extra income.
D. Supporting: Scholarships don’t fully cover expenses like food, housing, or travel.
III. Body Paragraph 2: Fairness and Exploitation
A. Topic Sentence (with transition): Beyond the long hours, the current system is unfair because it allows universities to exploit athletes without paying them.
B. Supporting: Universities and media profit even if athletes get injured.
C. Supporting: Schools benefit far more than the athletes themselves.
D. Supporting: Payment reduces stress and allows athletes to focus on school and sports.
IV. Body Paragraph 3: Recognition and Value
A. Topic Sentence (with transition): In addition to preventing exploitation, paying student-athletes acknowledges the true value they bring to college sports.
B. Supporting: Athletes are the reason fans and sponsors invest.
C. Supporting: Advertisers and networks rely on athletes’ visibility.
D. Supporting: Compensation validates effort, motivates athletes, and shows gratitude.
V. Body Paragraph 4: Financial Struggles and Equity
A. Topic Sentence (with transition): Finally, paying athletes would help address the financial struggles they continue to face and create greater equity across college sports.
B. Supporting: Scholarships don’t cover all living expenses.
C. Supporting: Many athletes take on debt or side jobs despite their workload.
D. Supporting: Small stipends or payments could create fairness across sports, recognizing hard work regardless of revenue differences.
VI. Conclusion
A. Restated Thesis: Student-athletes should be paid because they put in demanding hours, the current system exploits them, they are central to college sports revenue, and they still face significant financial struggles.
B. So What?: Paying athletes would make college sports more fair and ethical, while finally giving recognition and respect to the players who make the system possible.
Feedback for revised Introduction
You can remove the subtitle for Introduction.
The thesis needs to list FOUR subtopics (4 reasons college athletes should be paid). I only see 3. Remember that you will need to develop 4 body paragraphs for this paper, each with a different reason in support of your argument.
Instruction for body paragraph
For this assignment, you will revise your introduction from last week based on your feedback AND you will add your first body paragraph. The two paragraphs should be submitted as a single document.
Use the feedback you received on your outline and on the introduction to make any necessary improvements for these two paragraphs. The following elements must be included in your submission:
Introduction:
● Start your essay with a hook designed to quickly engage the reader. ● Introduce the larger controversy that you will be weighing in on. ● Provide any necessary background information to bring your reader up to
speed on what you have chosen to present as an argument. This will vary depending on your topic and may include elements such as definitions, statistics, a brief history on your topic, etc.
● Close your introduction with your thesis statement.
First body paragraph:
● Begin your body paragraph with a topic sentence that clearly introduces the subtopic of the paragraph and advances the argument in your thesis statement.
● Provide logical, relevant supporting points in support of your topic sentence and elaborate on each supporting point.
● Use evidence from reliable, academic sources to support your argument, but make sure your paragraph does not rely entirely on research. Also argue using your own logic.
● When using information from your sources, paraphrase carefully rather than quoting word for word.
This assignment must be submitted in APA style. Make sure to use APA format, cite any outside sources within the text, and include any references that you used at the end.
Type your work into the APA template: APA Template
Download APA Template
See the rubric for specific grading criteria.
Make sure for one of the sources to use google scholar
