Rhetorical Analysis: Should College Athletes Be Paid

In The Washington Post Sally Jenkins writes a column titled “rather than pay athletes, show them respect”. Jenkins talks about the age old question of “should college athletes be paid?”. She wants us to consider who college athletes really are and to see that they are worth our respect and much more.

In the op-ed “College Athletes Should Not Be Paid,” written by Warren Hartenstine analyzes the issue on college football players being paid for their performance on the field. This op-ed article was published in The Baltimore Sun, which is a major newspaper in Maryland. Warren Hartenstine was an assistant dean at a large East Coast school and was playing Division I football while attending one of the Big Ten institutions. While playing football he was also very involved in extracurricular activities with school, such as being in a fraternity, Kappa Sigma. Warren Hartenstine was involved in his school and the schooling system majorly, he believes in having self discipline and dual success in a student’s favorite institution and their higher education.

There is currently a major issue in today’s college athletics. Universities and the NCAA make billions of dollars while some student-athletes go hungry. There is a huge debate over whether or not student-athletes should be paid as employees of their respective colleges. Personally, I don’t believe players should receive full-time salaries, but Universities and the NCAA should be required to increase the value of the scholarships that they award to student-athletes. By requiring that colleges provide athletes with an additional $2,000 per semester as part of their scholarship you can greatly increase the well-being (welfare) of the students.

Cameron Newton was a coveted recruit coming out of Georgia’s Westlake High School in 2007. Upon signing with the University of Florida, he earned a back-up spot behind Tim Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner. After being arrested on felony charges, Newton dropped out of Florida and enrolled at Blinn Junior College in Texas. Newton led his team to the 2009 NJCAA National Football Championship, after which he was the only 5-star recruit for the 2010 season, as stated on rivals.com. His top two choices for college: Mississippi State University and Auburn University. After his first year at Blinn Junior College he committed to Auburn. During the 2010 football season, Newton led the #1 ranked Tigers to a national championship berth with an

In the article, “Want to clean up college athletics? Pay the players.” by Ryan Swanson, he utilizes rhetorical appeals to prove his point. Swanson goes much into detail on if the NCAA would pay its players, then there would be less corruption revolving NCAA players, coaches, and universities. First, he describes the amount of profit that college football teams make, then comparing it to what the football players receive. Swanson stated in the article, “They work hard for the university organization known as the football team, which is a money making enterprise, the receipts from football being something like $20,000 [roughly $478,000 today] more than expenditures for the sport. Why not give the players a share of the profits accruing from

More than 460,000 student athletes compete in the NCAA alone, many of which are D1 athletes and participate in one the major sports (NCAA). With college athletics on the rise for popularity, March Madness basketball tournament generates more than $1 billion each year in ad revenue (Green). The last audited number for revenue released by the NCAA reported was a yearly revenue of $871.6 million (NCAA). Many think with all the money floating around these athletes should be paid in some way, others argue otherwise (Debate). There is strong controversy whether college athletes should be compensated other than scholarships.

Nearly $1 billion dollars is what the NCAA made in 2014 off of sports events and merchandise, and they still will not provide the players with an income. Some say that given the player an education is enough, but it's not anymore because they are making too much money off theses players. Paying college athletes is the right thing to do because it is their money that is being collected, if a player is hurt during a college game then it could make it to where they can’t play professional, or they should be able to take endorsement deals.

College athletes are taken advantage of on a daily basis. Student athletes have to spend all day in class having to meet vigorous academic requirements well also having to stay competitive in sports. For doing so much you think the NCAA would at least give them some money to live off. When students have no money they are more likely to sell their autographs or take money from boosters. When students accept money from boosters it not only affects the player but it affects the team. Some ways that it affects the whole team is by reducing the amount of scholarships a team can give out that year. It could also affect their college playoff hopes by not allowing them to participate in their college bowl games.

Should College Athletes Be Paid? This question has the propensity to cause much commotion within the various collegiate athletic divisions; e.g., NCAA, BIG 10, MEAC, and CIAA. The complexity involved in flushing out an answer to this question coupled with our status as college students may have played a direct influence in the decision of the group Long Term Money’s (L.T.M.) choice to use this topic as an interest for group assignment. A “student athlete” is a participant in an organized competitive sport sponsored by the educational institution in which he or she is enrolled. Student athletes must typically balance the roles of being a full-time student and a full-time athlete. Due to educational institutions being colleges, they offer athletic scholarships in various sports; therefore, the proverbial question of which came first, “the chicken or the egg?” comes to mind. Are the individuals who would be directly affected by such an action, considered students’ firsts, or athletes, and if they are athletes, should be they be considered employees governed by significant employment and labor laws eligible for pay? If they are now employee, how will this affect their pursuit of the educational process, eligibility for scholarships, classes, study, etc.; what changes that must take place for the plan (if granted) to be carried out, would it be consistent across the entire country. So, with so many unanswered questions, we ask again; “Should College Athletes Be

With the passing of another academic year, fans were able to enjoy yet another nail-biting NCAA Basketball Tournament and a highlight filled football season. Most would agree that the NCAA provides competitive sport as popular as the professionals. In fact, its annual revenue makes that point clear. College football and basketball generate more than the National Basketball Association, a total of more than $6 billion yearly.[1] There is one major difference between the two associations, however. NBA players get paid for the revenue they help bring in, while NCAA athletes receive no monetary compensation. The promise of a free education is not enough anymore if the NCAA wants to act as a money making business, and not reward those who help make it profitable. If the NCAA does not want to pay college athletes, than it should not hold these players back from entering the professional game. However, colluding with the NBA and the NFL, athletes are restricted when it comes to joining the pro ranks. With these two ideas combined, athletes are drawn to the college game out of necessity, and not always desire. Some writers, like Stanley Eitzen, have even compared the system to indentured servitude or a “plantation system.”[2] Concerning the revenue sports of men’s basketball and football, the players should be entitled to some monetary compensation for their work, as well as the right to enter the professional leagues at an age that suits their abilities.

1 Often, in the world of college athletics, it comes down to all or nothing. You either win or lose. For the winning teams at top-notch programs, Alabama in college football and Duke in college basketball, for example, the reward for winning is millions of dollars of revenue. It is because of these programs and other top-notch programs in the premier athletic conferences, that makes the NCAA, the largest collegiate athletic governing body, a billion dollar industry. (Why College Athletes Should Be Paid).

An important topic in the athlete discourse community that was able to show different genres, is the topic of college athletes getting paid. The debate goes on, but with two different genres on the same topic different views will be given and analyzed as well as same views. One of the genres is a video sponsored by ESPN and Recruiting Nations. In the video the Top Ten High School Seniors were asked the question “Should College Athletes be paid?” the title of the video. There are members committed to different colleges that play college football or basketball and there are also students from colleges that are not involved in any extracurricular activities agree, disagree, or even both. It is a major debate, using two different genres in this discourse community the members of this community will give different views of their opinions and ideas on why college athletes should get paid for playing collegiate sports or why they should not get paid playing sports.

College athletes should not be paid six figure salaries each year. Instead, the American people as a whole should recognize the fact that Division 1 universities are generating millions of dollars in profit and still do not want to reward the young men who earn this money for them. It defies all sane logic that an organization “dedicated to the well-being and lifelong success of college athletes” (Jacobs) proudly defends its exploitation of these young men, as sports fans across the country look the other

College athletes should not get paid. College athletes getting paid has a lot to do with most of the coaches being involved and letting them get paid. Most coaches get paid millions of dollars and most of the time that’s who the college players or their families are getting the money. Athletes wonder about getting money and how they are a going to get it. Well here is why college coaches make money off the player. The players are the ones who are really the reason why most coaches get paid the largest amount that they get. How good the player plays, their popularity etc. Coaches start off recruiting with a salary instead of a scholarship. But salary does not give a better deal than a scholarship.

In an interview, former University of Connecticut (UConn) basketball star Shabazz Napier voiced his opinion on college athletes not getting paid to play. The interview was conducted just after UConn won a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship, in which Napier won the “most outstanding player” award. The interview conducted by Fox News was only one minute and thirty-five seconds long on TV, however in that short time frame, Napier skillfully used rhetoric to support his claims. An analysis through the lens of Aristotle’s three proofs, Ethos, Pathos and Logos demonstrates Napier’s aptitude to galvanize his audience to support his claims.