Should college athletes be paid for playing sports? College athletes balance school, practice and having social lives, and they should be compensated with some type of reward.

   Reporter Ken Reed of the Huffington Post said, “Athletes deserve to share in the wealth created due to their efforts on the courts and fields of our universities.” He went on to add that athletes deserve to be compensated for the cash income they help produce by their play (huffingtonpost.com).

   It’s no surprise that teams who win games sell more tickets, more jerseys and more team-affiliated paraphernalia than teams who don’t win. In order to do that, a team needs good coaches and good players. Coaches are paid to perform their best, so why aren’t players financially rewarded?

   Wall Street Journal Writer Howard P. Chudacoff said, “These athletes are already treated like campus royalty, enjoying far more perks, and richer ones, than their classmates could dream of.” He believes that students are equally compensated for their work around campus. Directly paying athletes with money may not be the answer, but compensating them with discounts on their tuition for their time invested helping the school make money is a good idea.

   Yes, there are scholarships for outstanding athletes, but there is not always much money to give, and it doesn’t go to all players. According to ESPN, Alabama Crimson Tide’s athletic department earned 123,769,841 dollars in total revenue, including ticket sales, donations, media rights and branding (espn.go.com). That money is all earned by the athletes that attend the school. With the funds they help their schools raise, all athletes should have discounts in their tuition; even the smallest amount helps.

   “Big-time college sports departments are making more money than ever before, thanks to skyrocketing television contracts, endorsements and licensing deals, and big-spending donors,” said Washington Post Writer Will Hobson. With schools making “more money than ever,” they should have the money to compensate the deserving athletes who helped them become such profitable institutions.

   Although paying college students with direct cash may be pushing it too far, college athletes do deserve some type of reward for the hard work they put in to represent their school. “I think that if colleges offered more types of scholarship money for athletes, it would help get more people an education,” said Junior Kyle Strobbe. Financial incentives could possibly increase the number of students earning a degree, and athletes should be rewarded for their work in a way that helps to improve their education.