[View the story "NCAA pay for play" on Storify ]NCAA pay for play Storified by AJAMStream · Thu, Nov 21 2013 11:59:20
Professional athletes like
Adrian Peterson and
Arian Foster have expressed their interest in seeing players paid. South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier has
offered to pay his players out of his own pocket, while Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim
said paying players would be "idiotic." The debate has even made its way to the halls of Congress, where Representative Bobby Rush (D-Illinois) had some stern comments for the NCAA.
"(The NCAA) is one of the most vicious, most ruthless organizations ever created by mankind," Rush said. "I think you would compare the NCAA to Al Capone and to the mafia.usatoday30.usatoday.com
Because all NCAA athletes are classified as amateurs they receive compensation in the form of scholarships. Any unauthorized payments can lead to players being penalized, which sports commentator Bomani Jones calls unfair.
.@rodimusprime said it best: ppl LOVE saying how college athletes are adults and punish them as such. but time to pay? treat em like kids.Bomani Jones
A new documentary, "The Business of Amateurs," takes a look at whether or not the NCAA's principle of amateurism still holds true.
NCAA Documentary - "The Business of Amateurs"-4iwXcZvhBDkhe1YqFcbPA
To some, scholarships are more than enough for their efforts.
& the money that we do pay, helps support college athletes’ scholarships. What kind of BS is that? I pay tuition so you barely have to pay?Elijah
But a full scholarship does not necessarily cover all the costs of college.
papyrus.greenville.edu
With all the money being made in college sports, some are crying foul on the NCAA's insistence on keeping athletes away from a paycheck. The
average salary of coaches leading 62 of the teams in the 2013 NCAA tournament was $1.47 million, with Duke's coach Mike Krzyzewski making $7.2 million. One study from the National College Players Association, an advocacy group for college athletes,
valued Duke's basketball players at over $1 million, but put their scholarship shortfall at nearly $2000. Below is an infographic on the money in college athletics:
markmorant.com
The NCAA likes to tell people most athletic programs lose money, but fails to admit that irresponsible (well-paid) athletic directors CHOOSE to overspend on luxuries while ignoring their players’ basic needs.National College Players Association
After Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel was found
signing autographs, popular sports analyst Jay Bilas
pointed out on Twitter that the NCAA and its president, Mark Emmert, still profit off him and other athletes who have violated restrictions.
Go to ShopNCAAsports.com, type in "Manziel" in upper right search box, hit enter. This comes up. pic.twitter.com/N7KNvXIu24Jay Bilas
NCAA forced Shabazz Muhammad to sit out early games, but still making money off of him on ShopNCAAsports.com. pic.twitter.com/3U0KFbmnggJay Bilas
Go to ShopNCAAsports.com and type "Mark Emmert" in upper right search box, then hit enter. This comes up. pic.twitter.com/OqBmXHkg0eJay Bilas
Though some sports professionals like Bilas have pointed to inequity in the system, the idea of playing payers has raised as many questions as answers. For one, many schools cannot
afford to pay. ESPN business reporter Darren Rovell questioned who would end up profiting.
If a pay system is put in place that rewards the truly marketable college stars, less than 0.1% of college athletes will cash in.darren rovell
Some have also
asked which athletes would get paid under new regulations, especially under gender protections such as Title IX.
RT @FO_ASchatz: These "pay college athletes" articles never address Title IX. Can't pay men w/o paying women. http://t.co/cXRb9woKzBLaura McLay
If you are going to pay D1 athletes it is my opinion you have to pay every college athlete because they all put in the countless hoursDylan|
But that hasn't stopped athletes from taking matters into their own hands. Former UCLA Bruins basketball player Ed O'Bannon filed an antitrust
lawsuit against the NCAA for continuing to use his image to make a profit. Anyone who plays for the NCAA must sign a waiver relinquishing their right to make money off their own image as NCAA athletes. The organization then sells those rights to EA sports to use in video games.
marketplace.xbox.com
O'Bannon played for UCLA in the 1990s, but the NCAA continued to profit off his image by using classic teams like the Bruins in new releases of NCAA March Madness .
O'Bannon is alleging that if the NCAA didn't force him to sign this contract, then he could have gotten money from someone else (say, an EA competitor) to use his likeness. Thus, it essentially fixed the price of using his image at zero.sbnation.com
Current NCAA football players are also trying to change the rules. A group of players from schools including Georgia Tech, UCLA and Northwestern have launched the "All Players United" movement by
writing "APU" on their wrist tape during games as an act of protest. They are not making pay-for-play a central part of their requests, however; the group is
asking for scholarship amounts that match the full cost of attendance and are protected throughout their four years, as well as payment for medical expenses from sports injuries and more efforts to maintain player safety.
encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com
The Stream asked its community: What do you think about paying college athletes?
@AJAMStream Yes the students are making money for the school. The students are making the college popular by playing hard! Yes pay themAria Ahrary
@AJAMStream No, not a penny. The students who paid tuition to keep the school open for the sports programmes to make money. Free Tuition!Jeremy Rogers
@AJAMStream @AmericaTonight I feel they deserve a high pay ! They bring in the crowds that can fill up a Stadium&T.V.veiwers commercial saleJellyroll
@AJAMStream Put money away for them and let them claim once they've completed their time...Sean Newsome
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