It’s the end of August and we all know what that means…the school year is starting once again. With the start of a new semester, we also see the return of college football. Teams like Alabama, Clemson and Oklahoma have been preparing for the beginning of the season for quite some time. All of the athletes have been putting in the time to work out, train and have been practicing on the field. When the season begins, these teams play in front of 80,000 screaming fans. Most fans are college students with jerseys and other accessories, representing their team’s colors. Besides being seen by all of the people in the stadium, some games are nationally televised for millions around the world to spectate. The players that are giving their blood, sweat, and tears each week on the field are making absolutely no money.

To be a NCAA athlete means that they are not allowed to make any money while playing. Athletes cannot make any money off of the merchandise that is sold AND they cannot take any sponsorship/endorsement deals. To me, this makes no sense because these athletes are technically working. They have bosses who are their coaches. They have work hours, which would be the amount of time they spend practicing and actually playing on the field. Plus, they are the ones generating money for their company (their college or university). Each year the NCAA makes millions of dollars off of the college football season. How would you feel if you earned millions of dollars for your company and were not given even a penny for all of your hard work? These athletes are being treated so poorly and something needs to be done about it.

Living as a student in college is not the best lifestyle you could have. Mostly everything is expensive and as students, we don’t have that much money, to begin with. Most students tend to get jobs and make money that way. So why is it that the college athletes cannot make money for the jobs they go out and perform every week on the field? Why should the student-athlete need to get a job ON TOP of going to school AND playing a sport? I am a college student, an English major writing for a website where I have the opportunity TO MAKE MONEY doing what I love. But, a football player on the Alabama roster CAN’T make anything for doing what he loves!

On the other hand, I am not saying that all college athletes need to be paid. Athletes that make little to no money for their schools do not need to be paid. If the men’s volleyball team draws crowds of 15 people a game, then they don’t deserve to be paid. But, if I was an athlete filling in football stadiums of 100,000 people, like Alabama’s Bryant–Denny Stadium, I would be pretty upset.

All student athletes attempt to perform to the best of their abilities. They all want to be successful. Each and every one of them put in the time to perfect their craft. At some point, the student-athletes will begin to realize that they deserve much more than what they are being given. Hopefully, one-day student-athletes will be paid and they will get what they deserve.