Student-athletes losing in the compensation game
By
Jenny Dial Creech, Houston Chronicle
January 12, 2018
The conversation never stops.
College football is a billion dollar industry.
The athletes that make it such don't earn any money for doing so.
The list of pros and cons to paying student-athletes is long and each side makes a valid point.
When it's all said and done though, something has to give. The NCAA might not want to compensate players for an array of reasons. But it's also holding them back from making money on their own.
That's a problem.
Student-athletes are given a scholarship, a small stipend for essentials and the undeniable advantage of an education.
But college football players are held back from having jobs and find themselves in hot water if they find ways to put money in their pockets.
"I don't think any college player thinks someone should be handing over NFL money," said Bralon Addison, a Hightower and Oregon alum. "But I think it would be wise to look at the situation from a player's point of view. Being able to have spending money to go out to eat or even to go see a movie on an off week isn't too much to ask for. And there aren't really ways to do that."
Addison, who played for the Ducks for three seasons, said that during each football season he spent about 60 hours just on football - practices, team meetings, film sessions, individual workouts. He also had a full course load.
In the offseason, he spent about half the time on football. For the course of the school year, time spent in football averaged nearly 40 hours a week - the same as a full time job.
"It's not like there was time to also go out and get a side job to make extra money," Addison said. "I think a lot of people don't realize that."
Because of that, many aren't gaining any work experience either. In the case of Addison, who spent his youth playing football, basketball and running track on repeat for years, he went into college having never had a job.
He also didn't work through college because of his grueling schedule.
He spent two years working for a chance to play in the NFL - made two practice squads in that time - and now is close to finishing his degree and trying to enter the workforce.
Addison will be the first to tell you how grateful he is for the college education. He also knows that without work experience, though, entering the workforce - even with a college degree - is tough.
"Thousands of players aren't making it to the NFL," Addison said. "You see the commercials all the time. That athletes are going pro in something else. That's harder than they realize."
Most players realize that they aren't making it past the collegiate level. But when some have started to realize their talents in other areas, they are halted or forced to make tough decisions.
Before last season, UCF kicker Donald De La Haye gave up football because he was forced to choose between it and the YouTube channel he'd created that was earning revenue.
He'd been making YouTube videos since he was 13 but the NCAA wouldn't allow him to continue and to be a collegiate athlete. He has since signed with a sports media company and is pursuing his talents in that area.
It's unfair that the same institution that tells athletes they are likely to end up with a different career path won't let student-athletes excel in that career path while in school.
The biggest argument against paying athletes is that they are receiving a free education.
Former college players would argue - with merit - that the education isn't free.
THE REST OF THE STORY