Division I college football and basketball programs have produced as much revenue as professional franchises in more recent years. The National Collegiate Athletic Association has created an enterprise of student-athletes.
But these people will not see a dime of the millions of dollars that their school will receive each year, whether it’s from winning championships, memorabilia sales or ticket sales.
Yet, as of 2008, NFL and NBA athletes receive 57 percent of all team revenue.
If Duke athletes would have been paid and received 57 percent of the revenue from their team, each player would have made $1.26 million in 2009, according to “HBO Real Sports.”
But according to the NCAA, it is against the rules for amateur athletes to receive pay for their performance on the field unless it is in the form of a scholarship toward education and residency.
This also goes for sports endorsement. In 2009 Nike signed a deal with Stanford’s men’s basketball team. The students got a new pair of shoes while the head coach received $300,000.
The obvious trend here is that the NCAA allows for everyone involved in high-revenue athletic programs to get paid except for the main attraction — the athletes.
Without the athletes, these enormous cash-cow programs would not exist. Would the NCAA have made $6 billion from an 11-year contract with CBS if the athletes weren’t there to compete in the events?
The NCAA ensures that student athletes do not receive revenue from their image or likeness either. NCAA video games generate revenue of $4 billion in licensing.
The athletes generate $0 for their name and face to be used in video games, according to “HBO Real Sports.”
Currently, football and basketball coaches at big time schools can be making up to $5 million.
Our very own football coach is the highest paid ASU employee, in fact. Dennis Erickson made $1.275 million in 2008 and in close second was Herbert Sendek, ASU’s men’s basketball coach, with $900,000.
The NCAA and programs claim that football and basketball programs help support smaller sports programs that lose money. The revenue from large programs also supports women’s championship games as well.
As the issue with unpaid athletes is becoming more popular, the solution is still very unclear. At the same time student-athlete education is becoming less important. Student athletes are expected to graduate, get a career or go pro.
This is not the reality for most football and basketball players who join programs and sign contracts at 17 and 18 years old, unprepared for balancing sports and education.
Football players from Auburn claim that coaches force students to change their major if school and practice conflict. Athletes have come forward and revealed tactics used by coaches to recruit and maintain players.
The NCAA has created a corporate enterprise that has taken advantage of current system. It is essential that student athletes utilize their education under the current system to ensure financial security in the future, because unless they go pro, they will never receive money for their athletic talents.
Reach Justine at jrgarci8@asu.edu
