Millions and millions of people watch college sports each year, which generates a substantial amount of money for the colleges. This money can then be used in many ways for a variety of programs at these colleges. The only individuals who are not benefiting from this additional revenue are the actual athletes working hard on the field or court.

College athletes invest at least 40 hours a week into the practice and training for their sport, making it comparable to a full-time job. If you were committing to an effort that takes up 40 hours of your time per week, wouldn’t you want to be paid?

Taking on a “full-time job” on top of already being a full-time student leaves very little time for studying or any of the other social aspects of college, like clubs and community connections.

It’s very likely that these athletes have plans for their future that do not involve continuing with their sport in a professional capacity, so the lack of time for schoolwork during college can significantly affect their futures.

Also, with athletics comes injury. Everyone knows how expensive medical care can be, so when a college athlete, who is most likely already drowning in student loan debt, gets injured, the aftermath can be truly crippling.

College athletics is a multi-billion dollar industry, with revenue generated not only through event viewership but also through merchandise and sponsorships. It allows colleges to increase their recognition, and they can team-up with cable companies and athletic brands, which results in multi-million dollar partnerships. They use athletes’ images to boost revenue and sell clothing, and if these athletes are helping benefit their colleges’ bottom lines, they should be compensated accordingly.

The salaries of most college coaches are also ridiculously high. Given that they are the coaches, they do deserve pay, but that amount is disproportionate when compared with the work the players are contributing for zero dollars. That amount of money can be significantly lowered, with the difference being distributed evenly among the players; the players are the only reason the coaches even have  jobs and salaries in the first place.

The amount of work and time invested by college athletes is deserving of a salary as well. These sports are some of the biggest money-makers for certain colleges, and the players sacrifice much of their own education and personal lives by giving their all to the sport. I truly believe that such effort and commitment put in by the athletes is deserving of compensation.