In the United States 59% of student athletes leave college with student loans, and student athletes can’t be successful in the classroom and on the field with working and having a job to try and provide for themselves. In my opinion, players should be getting paid for how much colleges get from them.
In my personal experience being a student athlete is difficult with the lack of time and energy drained, and adding a job on top of that can add so much stress onto a teenager that is not needed and not good for their health. Seeing my teammates who have jobs while being an athlete does not reflect positively on their grades which takes away from opportunities in their future. Then when getting to college student athletes are put under so much more.
In so many cases, college athletes don’t have money to pay for a lot of things like food, clothes, and housing. While also not having enough free time to have a job. In multiple cases, D1 athletes have lost scholarships because of them getting income off of their YouTube channel.
With the NCAA just now allowing stipends of yearly pay to college athletes, it is starting to look like a step in the right direction. Some reports say the yearly stipends will be from $2,000 to $4,000 a year.
To conclude, paying players is vital to keeping college athletes working to their peak performance on and off the field, while also keeping college more manageable and not completely overwhelming.