Okay. I must not have all of the facts here, because I have followed this on the periphery, and have read only a few articles on the subject. NCAA players want to be paid for their play. As a knee-jerk reaction, my first response is that I guess getting educated for free is not enough.
However, upon more reading on my part, I find that all of the players are not being affording complete tuition/housing/meal tickets. And if you are on the team, regardless of whether you are a starter on third string, you do not have time to get a part time job to help with the expenses that are not covered by a scholarship. So that leaves quite a few players in a financial lurch when they graduate.
How can it be a financial lurch when they go to the NFL and make millions of dollars, you ask? Well, I'm sure that Mark Ingram doesn't have any outstanding student loans, but I'll bet that third string offensive lineman who doesn't make it to a draft of any kind does. And that's just one of the issue theses players are looking to resolve.
Plus, there is the matter of merchandise. Let's say, for example, you bought a #22 jersey while Mark Ingram wore that number. It may or may not have had his name on the back, but it's pretty clear that the reason you bought it is because it was his number. Mark Ingram gets nothing from that. He is the sole reason you bought the jersey, and he sees no revenue. That is just wrong, in my mind.
College football is a billion dollar industry. And it's all on the players. They are the reason fans get excited, spend money, buy merchandise and support the schools. Coaches make a huge difference, as well as the ADs, but it's the players who bring us back week after week.
With that said, some would say that getting educated and playing a game for glory should be enough thanks. Well, I can certainly see that view. However, I have an issue with the vulgar amount of money earned outside the stadium because of these young men. They should get a cut of that. Mark Ingram should have received a percentage of every #22 Alabama jersey sold while he was on the team wearing that number. I don't think anyone else on the current roster wears that number, but until it is retired, it is available for another player. That's why he gets paid only while he is wearing it.
And insurance. Yes, every player should have the same insurance that the coaches enjoy. No dependents, just the players. They are the ones getting hurt. And there is little to no consideration given to long-term injuries that are caused during their time on the college field. The university is responsible for that long-term injury and needs to be held accountable for treating it in the long term.
And Title IX ensures that all athletes at any school receiving federal monies will apply benefits to all sports. So, if I buy a gymnastics outfit that has Laura Lee Frost's name on it, she needs to get paid. Laura Lee also needs to have university insurance. Gymnastics is not for sissies.
I don't want these athletes to get paid for playing. I think the university should give them a free education, with no student loans at the end of the process. I think they need to get a percentage of profits made from merchandising them/their likeness/their image/their associated numbers. I think they need to be insured while at the university and for long-term injuries sustained. After all, that protects the university’s investment, too. That's it. It’s the right thing to do. As we move into a new college football playoff scenario, schools will be flush with money. Coaches are getting millions of dollars, where is the rest of the money going? Yes, there are expenses galore, but the people with the bank books are forgetting the most important people: the players.
What do you think?
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