With all of the money that is being made these days in college sports, there has been quite a bit of talk about whether or not NCAA athletes should get paid. Some argue that student athletes are already being provided for by their schools with financial aid, housing, and books and therefore, earn their tuition. Those against the salary insist that paid student athletes would not get the full “college experience”. Despite this, others argue that all of this is not enough to support the cost of living.

In truth, student athletes are different than their peers in that they are constantly at risk of injury. Some serious injuries could potentially prevent players from getting a job after college, and therefore a lack of a paycheck. This would mean that the government, and essentially the taxpayers, would have to pay for those people’s existence.  However, some people worry that with the lack of funds flowing through schools throughout the nation, universities would be forced to cut back on student programs in order to give athletes their paychecks.

Professional athletes do many of the things college athletes do, but they are paid a massive salary. According to CBS, the average per-year salary for an NBA player is around 5 million dollars. NFL players get paid roughly 1.8 million, and MLB players get a yearly paycheck of over 3 million dollars. There are some people who believe that athletes should be paid solely for the cost of living, or based on the revenue of the sport they play. Some say that the amount of financial aid a student gets should determine whether or not they should receive a salary.

It is definitely a controversial subject, and with all the different arguments, there will likely not be any big decisions made in the near future. However, it is a topic that could change the face of college sports and its athletes forever.