Should College Athletes Be Paid?

Being a student-athlete in college could be a struggle at times, you have to devote much of your time and energy to sports and still study for class in order to maintain passing grades. Even without the burden of having to balance school and sports, most of us still have a difficult time making ends meet when it comes to finances. This economic tussle affects almost every person that attends a university, so do college athletes deserve more help financially than other students or are the many sources from which they receive aid enough? For me, school has always been about education first and extracurricular activities second but for others this may not be the case. However, the university’s main goal is to educate the students that attend the institution, is it not? So is it fair to offer additional assistance to those students that choose to participate in athletic programs but not to those who choose otherwise? Many collegiate athletes believe they should receive payment for their athletic abilities and they are not the only ones that think so, they sacrifice their time and physical health for school pride and the love of the game. This issue has caught the attention of many people recently and much controversy has begun to arise due to lawsuits concerning players receiving payment for their athletic abilities and for marketing reasons. These actions being taken are not necessary, many of the athletes receive a tremendous amount of monetary support from the school, government, and scholarships. Paying a college athlete a salary is not something I advocate, whether they plan on becoming a professional or not, at the college level it is not a career and therefore should not be treated as such.