Pay Up The world of sports has become larger than life over the last century, especially in college. Being a collegiate athlete is undoubtedly the most difficult sporting profession in the world. Not only are the students dedicated to their sport, which requires an obscene amount of preparation time, but they are also dedicated to their schoolwork. And the reward they receive for their hard work? Sure, there are the good memories, the friendships made, the “free education” or the national championships, but are these students getting their fair share? Should college athletes be paid? This is a question that has been asked, but never really answered. College athletes should be paid for their work. I even have the perfect system for making sure college athletes get their fair share: Pay! It's that simple. Being a college athlete is one of the most difficult lifestyles to maintain. It's very hard to bear, mentally and physically. Collegiate sports have become increasingly competitive, demanding more time from those participating in them to devote more time and energy to maintaining a competitive edge. In the professional football league, also called the NFL, preseason training doesn't begin until late March, after the NFL draft. The first preseason football game won't take place until the second week of August. In the meantime, the players meet 5 days a week, sometimes six, to prepare for the upcoming season. On average, a practice can last around 8-9 hours with a few breaks in between. This doesn't seem like such a big deal considering these guys make millions of dollars a year. Now let's move on to the life of a college athlete. First of all, the off-season worko...... middle of paper ......to steak such as; coaching jobs, college funds, alumni support, ect. “According to IRS tax regulations; college athletes should be considered employees” (Anthony). In addition to the money that college athletic programs are responsible for bringing in, universities rely heavily on athletic programs to attract new students each year. These are just extra jobs that a student-athlete does whether they like it or not. The solution I propose to solve this problem is simple. Just pay student-athletes the money they deserve. Pat Oakes-Melvin states in an online article: “The amount a student should receive depends on whether the athlete participates in a remunerative sport or not” (Anthony). Students who play sports that don't bring in any income should be allowed to work. They could then meet their needs outside of their scholarships.