- Question
Should NCAA athletes be paid?
In the United States, college athletes receive scholarships for their athletic contributions to their schools instead of cash. The NCAA divides universities into 3 categories, or divisions. Division I schools have the largest student body, most athletic scholarships, and the biggest athletic budgets. Division II schools have fewer athletic scholarships and fewer students. Division III schools offer no athletic scholarships. Should these schools pay their student-athletes?
NCAA athletes should be paid
NCAA athletes dedicate about 40 hours per week to their sport. They dedicate the same amount of time to their sport that the average person does to their job, so they should be paid accordingly.
NCAA athletes should not be paid
This position holds that NCAA athletes should not be paid. It argues that they are students first, already compensated through athletic scholarships — and that introducing salaries would force other programmes to be cut, while deciding who gets paid would be hopelessly arbitrary.