Money Gainz
Money, being a touchy subject, affects college athletes in multiple ways. To start, scholarships ease the burden of the people involved in the funding of the athletes schooling. Second, when in a college sport, it is hard to maintain a job because of the demands of the program both physically and mentally. Finally, for college athletes who are not receiving as much compensation, they have to find ways to make ends meet.
How does money affect motivation?
For student athletes, motivation is key. If they are not motivated during a game or competition, then they will not perform to their best ability. Money, however, is known to be a poor intrinsic motivator. If students are expecting money either way, then why should they stay motivated in their sport? Colleges have to take this into consideration when deciding how to compensate a college athlete. Also, if compensated and an injury happens or they are not performing like they should, then the university could be losing money. All of these make the topic of compensating an athlete difficult to conclude.
Is the compensation in the form of education?
Whether the compensation comes in the form of education depends on the school. Education, as stated in the article “Point/Counterpoint: Paying College Athletes,” is “the university’s primary purpose” (Johnson). College is a place for education specifically and the sports aspect is more of an additional piece. However, there are benefits of being a college athlete. One major benefit is having some or all of your education paid for. After the education costs, is there a added compensation or stipend that should be given? The same article talked about earlier includes both sides. “They are students first and athletes second.” This means that the sport is not the focus, school is. Paying athletes on top of their education would be a cost burden on the university. On the other hand, “[student athletes] are about to enter a ‘plantation-like system in which their scholarship is not guaranteed and can be terminated at any time” (Johnson). Students sign a contract that can be changed and therefore can become a financial burden on them and their family. This being said, student athletes might need the extra compensation to help with their outside costs.
