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where's the companion graph of how much money each of those people bring in to the university?
by llimllib 18y ago
where's the companion graph of how much money each of those people bring in to the university?
- mechanical_fish 18y agoExcellent point. While you're at it, make sure to include the salaries of the players. Or are we applying corporate-compensation logic, in which all the money that a company brings in is credited to the CEO, who promptly gives himself a lavish raise?
- steveplace 18y agoIt's my opinion that college football players should receive salary, or at least be able to accept endorsement opportunities. There would be a decreased financial motivation to leave school early. There's a ton of downside to this, I know, but I don't think that universities should be regulating what sort of money their students bring in.
- streblo 18y agoThey receive salary in the form of a scholarship.
- cconstantine 18y agoThank you. Another way to look at it is that the university is 'paying' them with a free education, and 4 years with no financial obligations. Depending on the school, that has the potential for massive financial equivalents.
- mechanical_fish 18y agoI agree that a scholarship has a nonzero value. That said, let me propose a deal for you: Instead of being paid for your next four years of work, your employer gives the cash to a university. In return, the university gives you a four-year scholarship with a value equal to your deferred salary plus X%. Note that the scholarship is nontransferable, it cannot be deferred, and you cannot stretch it out over more than four years, unless the university agrees to give you a single extra "red-shirt" year. Also, if you quit your job, you lose the scholarship, so don't expect to be a full-time student unless you're really good at multitasking and don't need a lot of sleep. How large does X have to be before you accept this offer? My guess is that it is considerably higher than zero.
- cconstantine 18y agoRight, I think we're both in agreement here. To say that college athletes are unpaid workers isn't exactly true, but it also isn't entirely honest to say they're paid like a regular job. I responded to the parent of my post because it had been down-modded for simply saying scholarships are a form of payment. If I were a high-school kid coming from a family with very little ability to help pay for college I'd say that sounds like fantastic deal.
- Retric 18y agoPersonal I would have gone to Standford on an athletic scholarship that paid less than full tuition. Few collage players can compete in the MBA and there is not a lot of paths for people with that level of skill to may any money from their sport. Few people complain that doctors need to do an internship before they make the "big bucks" because even if they are paid less than they are "worth" they are still gaining non monetary compensation.
- steveplace 18y agoFine, I'll grant you that. But why are they not allowed to accept endorsements? It definitely pays better than being a bouncer at the local pub. Some of these guys come from financially destitute situations and will leave school the minute they hear NFL so they can support the rest of their family.
- te_platt 18y agoWhat are the downsides to paying student athletes?
- chairface 18y agoagents
- steveplace 18y agoIt could lead to a power imbalance with big schools.
- llimllib 18y agoYou're preaching to the choir, I think the athletes should get a share of the pie as well. Preferably, in fact, these unquestionably professional athletes would stop pretending to be students at all, with some sort of hybrid university-sports structure. (keeping in mind that this graph uses the top 150 college coaches; schools like Yale and Stanford unquestionably have true student athletes)
- eru 18y agoWhy intermingle sports and academia at all?
- wjy 18y agoExcellent question. The very best universities don't intermingle them... MIT, Caltech, Stanford come to mind. I know MIT has lots of intramural sports, where the focus is on healthy recreation for students. But they don't have ANY NCAA-style teams.
- andreyf 18y agoThat would be appropriate if universities were businesses with a responsibility to maximize profits and reward shareholders.