WITH the recently concluded March Madness and college football season in the US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), both collegiate sports marked by intense competition, student-athletes spend a substantial amount of time training almost like a professional athlete does, which begs the question, should student-athletes be paid?
Advertisers pay a lot of money to advertise their products and services to be seen on national television. In collegiate sports, you see company logos of sponsors on the jerseys of student-athletes.
Men’s and women’s basketball and college football generate the most revenue in the US NCAA. In the Philippines you have men’s basketball and women’s volleyball selling the most tickets among all college sports.
There are pros and cons of paying student-athletes. In the US NCAA, it is against recruiting rules to even give a recruit or a student athlete a single cent, cars and employment for their parents. Sports programs have had their scholarships taken away, suspended from postseason play and banned for a season or two due to various recruiting and student-athlete violations.
In the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, there have been rumors of student-athletes receiving allowances as early as high school.
In college, there have been persistent reports of recruits receiving cars, condominiums and recruits’ parents given employment. There are no recruiting rules in Philippine collegiate sports. This being the case, schools, colleges and universities do whatever is necessary to recruit the best high school players in the country.
Does this violate unwritten rules of recruitment?
Paying student-athletes as early as high school teaches them financial literacy, which should ideally be one possible effect. However, shouldn’t their parents be teaching these kids the value of money and handling their finances?
Will making money before they even finish school affect their work ethic? Will they still want to finish school since they’re already making money?
Shouldn’t student-athletes be compensated for bringing honor and glory to the school? The TV deals between US TV networks and the US NCAA runs into the millions of dollars. Does some of the money trickle down to the student-athletes?
If a student-athlete suffers a career-ending-injury, then does he or she lose his or her athletic scholarship? The student-athletes are the stars of the league, then why isn’t part of the money given to them?
Here on our shores, you have student-athletes doing endorsements, commercials, ramp modeling and hiring managers and agents to represent them, receiving cash prizes and gadgets from sponsors as a result of winning individual awards. How does this figure in the scheme of things as far as the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) is concerned? The GAB’s position is very simple (or simplistic); if you receive money or its equivalent, then you’re a professional.