Ian Palmer

Composition and Critical Thinking II

Dr. Gann
11/12/13
Paper Two: Should College Athletes be paid?
In todays society there is a special spotlight on todays sporting
events, and the athletes who partake in them. Whether it is football,
basketball, hockey, or wrestling, there are athletes and there are avid fans.
While there are many different levels of athletics, from high school games to
the professional level, I will be focusing on an issue faced by college athletes.
In the world of college sports the athletes and athletic events which they
play in bring in enormous amounts of money. Last year the NCAA reported
revenue of 871.6 million dollars. Let that sink in, almost a billion dollars, this
is without a doubt an absurd amount of money. The amount of money is
even more surprising when you understand that the NCAA athletes do not
receive one penny for their play throughout their time as a college athlete.
Some may argue that the athletes are paid in their Full ride scholarship,
but not every athlete is getting their schooling paid for and on the other
hand, there are expenses that every college student faces in their collegiate
life, from food to clothes and everything in between. I believe that if a
university makes a profit off of selling merchandise of a single player (Like a
jersey with their name on it, or a t-shirt with the players name or face on it)

then the player should be seeing some of the profit. Therefore I believe that
college athletes should be paid for their likeliness being sold and in some
cases for their performances.
The previous year of college football had many different story lines, but
none are as captivating as the story of Johnny Manziel, also known as Johnny
Football. He was a red-shirt freshman who started at quarterback for the
Texas A&M Aggies. He went on to win the Heisman Trophy along with other
awards and he also became a poster boy for the frat boy partying college
athlete. Due to all of his success and media attention Manziel brought in a
large amount of money for the university. His jerseys in the bookstore
(2,500) with his name and number on the back were sold out by December.
The jerseys ran for $60 apiece and when you multiply the number sold by
the price you see that his jerseys alone accounted for $150,000. The 12th
Man Foundation, a booster club associated with Texas A&M, auctioned off a
dinner with Manziel which went for $20,000. It is estimated he also brought
media exposure from such networks as ESPN, CBS, ABC, and other large
networks, which comes in at a value of 37 million dollars. After hearing this
you may ask yourself How much does he get of this? and that answer is
not one cent. The NCAA has ruled that no college athlete can be paid and
therefore cannot receive a profit off of merchandizing sales, even if it is of
their likeliness. Manziel did run himself into some trouble when he received
payments for his autographs to fans. It is shocking that Manziel was
punished for signing his own name, to merchandise given to him in hopes

that it would be signed. He did not harm anyone or break any laws by
signing helmets, footballs, or posters. After the year of Johnny Football,
Texas A&M raked in the profits. The head coach Kevin Sumlin received a
raise of 1.5 million dollars and the athletics program had record sales
numbers following Manziels Heisman winning performance.
Another example of the NCAAs selfishness is seen with the Fab Five
of Michigan. The Fab Five were five freshmen who played for the Michigan
Wolverines mens basketball program from the years of 1991-1993. These
five men made up the historic line up in which five freshman started for the
first time in NCAA history. The five freshmen were Chris Webber, Jalen Rose,
Jimmy King, Juwan Howard, and Ray Jackson. The university exploited the
five young men by selling merchandise with their names, and faces on tshirts labeled with the Fab Five. Before the 1991 recruits were brought on,
the merchandising sales of the University of Michigan were reported at a
value of 1.5 million dollars. After the Fab Five went to the national
championship game and won in both 1992 and 1993, the merchandising
sales reached a value of over 10 million. These numbers can easily be
attributed to the popularity and success of the Fab Five, as well as the sales
of their likeliness throughout those two seasons. Like Manziel, the Fab Five
ran into some scandals regarding recruiting violations and violations for
which the players received money from boosters associated with the
university. The players received miniscule amounts of money, for example
they got money for food if they were hungry, and money to buy a coat to

keep them warm in winter. All members of the fab five came from low
income, and difficult home lives. Almost all of them experienced living below
the poverty line where there was little to no food and many other problems
surrounded them. After leaving the low income lives of their early lives, it
was frustrating to see how the university they were playing for could rake in
millions in merchandising alone and these young men did not see one penny
of profits that was made by selling their likeliness. I cannot imagine what it
must feel like to see the millions, which you are responsible for raising with
your play and your likeliness, go into the NCAAs pockets.
If players did get paid for their likeliness and other merchandise sold
with their name or face on it, many things would change for the better.
There would be fewer one and done players, or the players would stay and
get their degrees, rather than leaving for the professional leagues where
they will get paid for merchandise that represents their likeliness. If more
athletes stayed and got their degrees, then if they do not make the pros, or
their career is cut short by injury, they then have something they can fall
back on. Also if star players stayed for four years as opposed to one the
universities would have higher income rather than a one year fluke. Also
there would be fewer scandals involving autographs or booster clubs
providing players with money. If Johnny Manziel was rewarded for a small
portion of his profit off his likeliness, then he wouldnt even be tempted to
sign autographs for money. The same can be said if the Fab Five were to
receive payments from sales regarding their likeliness. The booster club

would not have needed to give the young men money, and therefore the
mens basketball program would not have faced severe punishment and take
devastating blows regarding their recruits for the next 5 years.
If all of what I have said is true, then it follows that college athletes
should see at least some of the profits that they pull in for their universities.
This will make college athletes happier, and make them want to stay and
pursue their degree. If athletes stay longer they will also bring in more
profits for the university. There would also be no need for players to take
illegal payments if they were rewarded for their likelinesss being sold. This
means no boosters would pay for student athletes, and also the athletes
would not be tempted to do anything that may get them in trouble just for a
quick buck. The payments may also come in handy if a season ending injury
occurs and surgeries may need to be performed to help the athlete. Another
point is the amount of time and commitment these student athletes not only
put in at school, but on the field must be taken into account. From lifting,
running, training, going to meetings, all the way to going out and performing
in games. The time commitment is a huge burden to put on an 18 year old
kid, and if they can successfully do well in school and on the field they should
be rewarded. School and athletics together is more than the average nine to
five job. Finally, I am not here to argue how much each athlete should be
given for merchandising sales, but look at the numbers that the universities
make, and just how large the NCAA is. Certainly some money can be given
to the college athletes who make the NCAA what it is.

Appendix

Figure 1. Breakdown of NCAA financials (2011-2012)

Figure 2. Johnny Manziel (Football) gear sold at campus store

Figure 3. Fab Five Shirts Sold @ Michigan

Information from
Writing points for paper 2

P- If Colleges make money off selling a players likeliness/ Performance (Jerseys,

Things with players names like t- shirts)
Q- Then the athletes should be rewarded
Therefore- College athletes should receive some profit from the universities sales of
their likelihood
Point 1- Johnny Manziel 2,500 Jerseys of his number 2 with name on it 60$ a piece
= 150,000
12th man foundation of school auctioned a dinner worth 20,000 with Manziel
Media Exposure for A&M from Manziel estimated at 37 Million
http://theweek.com/article/index/247910/how-much-money-has-texasaampm-made-off-johnny-manziel
Point 2- Fab Five at Michigan
http://shouldcollegeathletesgetpaid.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/fab-five-not-living-

fabulous/
Michigan Merchandise sales were 1.5 Million before fab five played, after over 10
million
Players did not see a dime. Exploited by own school
Recruiting violations followed, resulting from players taking minimal amounts from
boosters for food, clothing, gas . Etc.

Body Paragraph 3- If players were paid scandals wouldnt happen (Manziel and
autographs, Fab 5 and recruiting violations)
Not here to say how much they should be paid but just that they should
D 1 athletes put themselves to harm, Concussions, ACL Knee injuries, linger on in
life surgeries etc.
Huge commitment, like a job, valuable time spent
http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Finances/Revenue