College Athletes Should be Compensated for Their Labor

In a stunning reversal last month, the NCAA’s Board of Governors voted to allow student athletes to be paid for the use of their name, image, and likeness. The decision follows California’s adoption of a law allowing student athletes to sign endorsement deals and licensing contracts. From an industry that has been accused of exploiting its athletes for decades, the announcement feels long overdue.

The NCAA, or the National Collegiate Athletic Association, is the non-profit organization responsible for regulating college athletics in the United States. Up until this year, the NCAA maintained that college athletes should earn a degree, not compensation, for playing sports. This view prevailed even as college sports transformed into a formidable industry that now generates billions of dollars in annual revenue. The NCAA garners billions from the March Madness basketball tournament alone through their broadcasting deal with CBS. Universities also reap the benefits of these arrangements — schools like the University of Alabama, Ohio State, Texas A&M, and Penn State have signed yearlong multi-billion dollar contracts with the likes of ESPN, Fox, and CBS. Aside from these absurdly lucrative TV deals, universities also profit from in-stadium sponsorships and season ticket sales. 

Team coaches have been rewarded by the industry’s expansion with astronomical salaries. Ten college football coaches make north of $6 million per year. Dabo Swinney, the head coach of Clemson University’s football team, leads the pack with an annual salary of $9.3 million. College basketball isn’t far behind, either — Duke’s and Kentucky’s basketball coaches pocket $8.9 and $7.45 million, respectively. On top of their salaries, many coaches secure additional six-figure endorsement deals. 

It is difficult to justify these monstrous profits when the athletes whose talents attract these earnings in the first place walk away with nothing. Life as a Division I athlete is profoundly taxing. Athletes risk permanent physical injury on a daily basis. While NCAA rules restrict in-season practice to 20 hours per week, many Division I athletes are actually subjected to 30 or 40 hours. These grueling schedules hinder academic productivity, leaving many athletes with poor grades and a subpar education. Meanwhile, the reality is that only 2% of NCAA student athletes go on to play for professional teams. Without any sort of monetary compensation, the vast majority of student athletes graduate with nothing to show for years of effort but injuries and a low GPA. 

The NCAA’s decision to allow college athletes to profit from endorsements is a long time coming, but it’s not enough— athletes should be paid as employees by the universities themselves. Leaving compensation in the hands of Gatorade and Nike is irresponsible and negligent; it places further responsibility on the athletes to hire agents and search for profitable deals. Moreover, endorsements will only be offered to starting lineups at the highest ranked universities. All of the other players, who sacrifice just as much time and energy for their sports, will still graduate empty-handed. 

Virtually every university offers its student body the opportunity to make money in some shape or form. Students can earn $20 per hour for operating the scoreboard at the women’s basketball game, or for serving popcorn at the concession stand. These students are tracked by their labor hours in the same way that athletes are, but they are unique in that they are actually rewarded for their labor. By refusing to compensate the student athletes who yield billions of dollars in profit for them, the NCAA and the universities who are complicit in this system are exploiting them. One hundred million people tune in to watch March Madness every year, and yet the stars of the show leave with nothing. If we pay the students working in the bleachers, shouldn’t we pay those performing on the court too?