Four regular fans named Dan team up to discuss sports and other important issues. Aggie Fan Dan, Cougar Fan Dan, Ute Fan Dan and Jazz Fan Dan have assembled to create an impenetrable force. It is time to summon….the Council of Dan!
Should college athletes be paid?
Aggie Fan Dan (@USUTheRightBlue):
Yes but not astronomical amounts. Most athletes of the money making sports get a stipend, rent, books, food and tuition. However, the stipend doesn’t seem to be big enough because some still get summer jobs to cover what the stipend doesn’t.
If I were to instate a rule in the novel known as the NCAA book of rules, I would do away with the walk-on. If you’re good enough to make the team you deserve to be paid. The better athletes should get a larger stipend but all athletes playing college sports should get their college and basic living expenses paid for.
Other minor leagues make a small amount of money even outside college so really this is about paying amateurs. Lots of amateurs go overseas to play because there is a greater opportunity to make money. College sports, especially football and basketball, make so much money yet pocket most of it to help build a good program. Players won’t get paid without a concerted effort. If players are required to ever be paid a large amount than the already big gap between the Power 5 and other conferences will just get wider.
The answer is to be fair and pay what you can. Athletes have the option to make money outside of college athletics. Many college athletes won’t go pro so for now a free college education is great. It is a like full time job to be an athlete so they should have those basics covered. With the new law being passed in California to allow players to have endorsement deals and agents, more pressure will be put on the NCAA to allow similar compensation in all states. Otherwise, California schools would have an unfair advantage.
Cougar Fan Dan (@ddubsmalan):
The NCAA is a multi-billion dollar company that profits off of the likenesses and images of amateurs all throughout the nation. They have a stranglehold on the futures of these college athletes, and often abuse their power, as we recently saw in the case of Yoeli Childs. I am to the point now with the NCAA that whatever they want, I want the opposite.
This isn’t completely out of spite, but mostly. They have used and abused these athletes for way too long. Heck, they even have a commercial about how most of their athletes will not go on to play professionally. So how is it fair that these athletes, who dedicate so much time that they often cannot work a job in addition to their studies and team responsibilities, are not compensated for their work, and not able to make money due to the NCAA’s stringent and overbearing rules?
I used to be in the camp that the athletes don’t need to get paid. “They get scholarships! That’s more than enough!” I said. I was wrong. Is the solution easy? No. But does something need to be done? Absolutely. So let these student athletes live their lives, and even if it’s just minimum wage, pay them. And give us NCAA Football back, dang it!
Ute Fan Dan (@UteFanDan):
IT’S TIME TO GET PAID BABY!!! With the new legislation coming out of California, college athletes will be in prime position to take advantage and monetize their popularity.
As the old South Park meme goes:
Phase 1: Collect underpants
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: PROFIT!!!
The way I see this system working is that major stars in College Football and Basketball will collect most of the revenue from advertisements, social media, and merchandise sales. DUH. The real question is how universities and other, lesser-known or minor-sport athletes, can profit as well.
Phase 1: Universities need to advertise and create as many big stars as possible. – Universities must create opportunities for their athletes to monetize their fame. Creating advertisements with athlete specific gear and setting up autograph sessions or various special appearances are areas in which universities can get their athletes a spotlight. The end game for the universities should be to sell as much product with their logo as possible.
Phase 2: Licensing fees, promotional cut, +5% – Universities will be incentivized by revenue from licensing deals negotiated with student-athletes when they sign their scholarship/endorsement offer with the school. The cut they receive from licensing and from their contributions promoting athletes should ensure continued profitability for athletic departments.
What’s with the 5%? This is where the socialism kicks in. This extra 5% added to all promotional deals and merchandise will provide income for the remainder of the athletic department. Because it is separate from licensing and other deals, this money won’t transfer through the greedy hands of school officials, the revenue sharing will go directly to student-athletes.
Phase 3: PROFIT!!! – If universities buy-in to this plan, there will be an increase in revenue and when the pie is bigger, there is more to share.
Jazz Fan Dan (@jazzfandanman):
I’m going to state, right off the bat, that I’m 100% in support of anything that sticks it to the organization of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, commonly referred to as the NCAA. That first answer doesn’t directly have to do with whether or not college students should be paid, which I will get to in a moment, but it does tie in. Therefore, I’m going to destroy this organization a tiny bit more.
Fans of Utah collegiate schools are feeling a little bit burned by the NCAA as of late. The reason for this is a few well-placed punches in the form of inconsistency, randomness, and straight up absurdity. The black eyes have stuck, however, leaving most of us fuming towards the so-called powerful NCAA. I’ll get well into this in another article, I’m sure, but right now I’ll simply state that the NCAA can go step on a Lego.
The reason that I bring up the NCAA while talking about whether or not students should be paid for participating in collegiate sports is because of some pending legislation in the state of California. The state recently passed legislation called “The Fair Pay to Play Act”, which would allow students to accept endorsements for their name and their game. All that is awaiting now is the governor’s signature. The NCAA has threated that if the bill is signed into law, they would not allow California schools to participate, win accolades or, in any way, be affiliated further with NCAA activities. They are straight up saying that if any players receive compensation for their athletic abilities, they’ll receive the full punishment of the establishment possible.
Add this to the fact that college students that play athletic sports are already under the crosshairs. I heard of a former BYU player that had to seriously contemplate receiving an old couch from one of his coaches for fear that it could be conceived as a bribe, even though it was just trying to help a college student out. Students have to turn down drinks, food, rides, trips, etc for fear of the same thing. A former BYU basketball student was eventually deemed to invalidate two seasons worth of wins for a trip to Disneyland with a friend, who also happened to be a highly contributing payer to BYU sports.
With all this in mind, I will say that I think it’s fine for college athletes to receive the opportunity to make some money for themselves. They’re spending their time in the gyms, on the field, at the hoops, in the batting cages. For the most part, they’re all trying to get their homework done. In the case of a lot of our Utah athletes, they’re doing all this in addition to raising families, paying attention to their marriages, and making sure they’re well rested. In that light, they’re already pressed for time to manage to get a job. There are stipends available, but I don’t know enough about that to write about it (yet.)
I’m also thinking about the implications that paying players would have on corruption in college sports. Would it help corruption go down if those things were more in the open? Would it make it more corrupt because of competing schools offering bigger named agents and organizations? I’m not sure, to be honest. That’s something that remains to be seen. I don’t think it hurts to try it out, though. After all, it’s what the NCAA wants to avoid. And that’s more than a good enough reason for me to say “Bleep YES.”
You can vote on whether we should pay college athletes on our Twitter, Facebook or Instagram page this week. Go Utes, go Jazz, go Cougars and go Aggies! We are now accepting applications for Weber, UVU, SUU and Dixie Fan Dans!