Athletes have always been putting their bodies on the line for their school no matter what sport they play. If you have ever thought about it, what kind of compensation do those athletes receive for that much stress on their body? For almost every sporting event I have been to, there have been all sorts of different injures, from mild to severe. Athletes need to start seeing compensation for the stress and rigorous work they are putting in. These athletes need a payment, a payment such as graduating from college or after a serious injury. My argument is not based around paying the athletes on a professional level but compensate them on things that are out of their control.

I am an athlete and a huge sports fan. I have attended most if not all kinds of sporting events and love to be around the atmosphere. In the back of your head while watching sports, you always fear that someone is going to get hurt due to the aggressiveness of a specific sport. Unfortunately, it is an honest truth that most athletes go through some kind of injury whether that be a mild muscle tear or a severe career ending injury. As an athlete, you are never ready for that to occur, you are always ready to go out and perform for your school and your team.

What happens to an athlete that has a career ending injury? Most people don’t know this but the school has the ability to take that player off scholarship if the coach doesn’t deem that player acceptable to keep paying for his schooling since he can’t compete. This doesn’t happen on a regular occasion but it can still happen. For this reason their needs to be rules set in place that specify the nature of what the compensation benefits are. It doesn’t make any sense at all for an athlete to bust his butt on the field and get hurt representing his school and get tossed to the side.

The college programs and schools have to take in account the risks that these student athletes are taking and have to come to the realization that most if not all are putting enough stress and strain on their bodies that be their mid fifties they will have medical bills through the wall. The NCAA needs to come up with an insurance program to create a way for athletes that have medical problems in the future.

This kind of program is not specifically paying the athletes per say but is a source that the athletes can use to their advantage. Most people would not agree in handing out money to a college student and telling them to use it wisely. I have come to an agreement with my self and thoughts that this is the most viable option in campaigning for athletic compensation. The NCAA is a billion dollar industry that is not distributing is money back into its source of income, its athletes.

The risk of playing a sport in college is high. Many people don’t understand that many of the athletes perform just as well or better in the classroom than regular students. After college, these athletes are able to obtain good jobs and can live great lives. What about those athletes who have injuries or have obtained a permanent disability directly from a sport that they played in college? As I said before college injuries can effect an athletes future more than anyone could see in the present. It is critical that the NCAA takes this into account and develops a plan that can insure and athlete will obtain the proper care and development after an injury and any compensation that that athlete may deserve from a life altering injury.

I believe to keep athletes in school, preventing some from leaving early and flunking out, there could be a reward system at the end of their athletic career. Student athletes do not have time to work a minimum wage job and earn money for themselves. I believe that athletes provide enough money for their school that they should get compensated at the end of their tenure there.

It is important to keep fighting for the athlete’s rights and keep educating people on what athletes deal with on the long run. Most people only see one side to an athlete’s life and think they are done after their sports careers are over. About three to five percent of all athletes go play at the professional level. An even smaller percentage than that can make enough money to last their lifetime. It is important we compensate athletes with injuries and supply athletes an incentive for playing sports and graduating.

Smith, Ronald. Pay for Play: A History of Big-Time College Athletic Reform. Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2011. E-book.

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Smith, Ronald A. “Pay for Play: A History of Big-Time College Athletic Reform.” Univerisity of  Illinois Press (2011): 51-59. A Faculty Debating Society for Amateurism. Web. 2011.