Every March, the year's biggest college tournament starts in the USA called "March Madness". This event brings over a billion dollars in TV ad revenue. That's more than the super bowl. It's almost more than the entire NFL postseason, combined. Although, there is nothing inherently wrong with a sporting tournament making huge amounts of money. But there is something slightly troubling about a billion-dollar sports enterprise where the athletes are not paid a penny.
And as the head of the NCAA, Mark Emmert will tell you, they don't want that to change.
"There's not even a salary to debate. They're not employees, they're students. The fact is, they're not employees. They're student athletes."
One player, Shabazz Napier, who happened to let slip a startling fact after one of the games:
"You know, sometimes I am gonna say there are hungry nights where I'm not able to eat and but I still gotta play up to my you know capabilities. There are hungry nights that I go to bed and I'm starving."
The NCAA insists that student athletes cannot be paid because they are amateurs and although they've slightly softened their rules on food, among other things, in the last year, they still exercise a ridiculous amount of control over players. Before they're allowed to compete, athletes have to sign a form saying that they are amateur. They give up any compensation for playing and promise to abide by all the rules in this 440-page manual. The NCAA claims that while student athletes are not being paid, they are being compensated with something incredibly valuable and that is providing the athletes with remarkable opportunities to get an education at the finest universities. Yes, athletes are paid in "education". Assuming that you don't get hurt and lose your scholarship and that you have time to study. Because if you're a student athlete playing top-level basketball or football, that can be difficult.
According to NFL player Richard Sherman, in his college days, he would have to wake up early in the morning to train, then go to class and after that, if he'll be lucky, he would grab a quick bite to eat. After that, more training and practice ensued.
In keeping with their nonprofit status, some schools spend money to make it look like they're not making too much money. It's one of the reasons why the 10 largest football stadiums in the USA belong to colleges. In fact, the University of Michigan has claimed that, on game days, their stadium is the fourth-largest city in the state of Michigan.
Another astounding fact is that coaches are paid a huge amount of money. Mississippi state coach Dan Mullen was given a raise, pushing his salary to $4 million a year. The University of Kentucky announced a $52 million, seven-year contract extension with head basketball coach John Calipari. And if you're thinking, "well, they'll all get rich when they become professional athletes," that's true in a fractional number of cases. Because less than 2% of college basketball and football players go pro. Thus, even after going through such a rigorous college life, only a very small percentage of athletes get a chance to play in the professional leagues.
This predatory business model of NCCA has allowed itself to amass a fortune at the expense of gifted players. Policies need to be changed and revised to protect college students.
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