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> Well, they are getting compensation in terms of free tuition, room and board, etc... these things do have significant value. Compare and contrast with the mo
by rodgerd 12y ago
> Well, they are getting compensation in terms of free tuition, room and board, etc... these things do have significant value.
Compare and contrast with the money an 18-21 year old second team player at Real Madrid or Barcelona makes and get back to me on the "significant value". Especially when the athletes are being funneled through second-rate degrees to free up their time for sport.
- cpwright 12y agoOr compare it to the AHL, where players make $70,000 (this is as of 2012-20130. The $70,000 figure is not hugely out-of-line with the cost of a year of tuition, room, and board at a good school. Once they make the leap to the NHL it goes up markedly to at least $525,000 (as of 2011-2012), and of course free agents make even more. I do think that most public colleges should get out of the business of fielding sports teams. Except for the best schools, they will not be a net positive financially.
- cafard 12y agoA fairer comparison might be to the pay received in US minor league baseball. These can go as high as $90 thousand. But you can also play at the highest level of minor league ball, AAA, and get $2150 per month. Having said that, I agree with you on the whole. They are being paid in kind: in room and board that they could get at home, and in tuition that doesn't seem to amount to much. I think that baseball's structure of minor leagues and Canadian hockey's junior hockey offer a better deal to the young athlete.