One thing in particular separates collegiate sports from professional sports: money. And I believe that is the way it should be.
We all know those NCAA commercials that state, "There are over 400,000 NCAA student-athletes, and just about all of us go pro in something other than sports."
College is about the education and earning a degree for the majority of student-athletes, not solely about sports. Not to mention, there are endless questions to be raised if compensation were allowed.
What about the little guys? Those mid-major teams and athletes who do not get as much exposure as the SEC or Big12.
What about those smaller sports teams such as lacrosse or swimming?
What about the women's sports that do not earn as much revenue or get as much recognition as the men?
The list could go on and on, and I believe that keeping the traditional aspect of amateurism in college sports is necessary.
But, in my mind, student-athletes are already getting paid. What do you call the tens of thousands of dollars that they receive in scholarships? Is that not money their families get to keep?
Nonetheless, there are obviously those who believe that it is time to compensate student-athletes because of the money that their likeliness generates.
For example, former NBA stars Ed O'Bannon, Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson are leading a lawsuit against the NCAA and its lack of compensation. According to a CNBC article, a trial is scheduled for July 2014, and many think that the NCAA will lose.
But, as of now, athletes know that they sign their marketing rights away to the NCAA when they sign with a college team, and I am standing tall with my argument.
Whenever I think about collegiate sports, I think about the team pride and team unity that is evident. And there is evidence to back up the notion that this team pride and team unity is not always present in professional sports.
Look at the past three or four years in the NFL alone. Big-name players such as Maurice Jones-Drew, Darrelle Revis, Mike Wallace and Michael Crabtree, to name a few, have all held out of preseason training camp or expressed their intent to be traded because of their inflated egos and desire to be paid more.
What is to stop this from happening if compensation is brought into collegiate sports?
Take Cam Newton, Anthony Davis or Johnny Manziel, for instance. All are student-athletes who burst onto the scene with record-breaking performances in the past three years.
Say Cam Newton would have been paid a portion of what his likeliness generated during the 2010 season. Who's to say that he would not have developed an inflated ego, put himself before his team and rather than being a leader, caused locker room tension? Would he have won the Heisman Trophy? Would Auburn have won the BCS National Championship? Maybe not.
Although I am firm in my belief that individual compensation should be kept out of collegiate sports, that does not necessarily mean that I don't believe more compensation to an athletic program as a whole wouldn't work.
According to the aforementioned CNBC article, the NCAA generated about $6.6 billion in television contracts and merchandise licensing in 2012. And where does this money go? Primarily, it is kept within the NCAA.
I believe that the NCAA should have to forfeit more of the money to universities, and, in turn, the universities could compensate the athletic programs as a whole with better facilities, more scholarships, etc.
If it has to be done, it has to be for the benefit of all.
"Texas A&M got some $37 million in media exposure after their quarterback Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy in December," said Scott Minto, director of San Diego State University's sport business program. "He didn't get paid one dime from that."
But, Scott, that is not to say that Texas A&M did not, or could not, use that money for the betterment of the football program.
The bottom line is, I believe that amateurism is essential in keeping the tradition of collegiate sports alive.
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