North Texas Daily

Being a college student-athlete is a full-time job, with going to and from the weight room, the court or field, classes and film sessions. College athletics are extracurricular activities, but the schedules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s games sometimes require an extensive period in which student-athletes might have to miss school.

Not only do they miss class, but they are absent for nationally televised games that make a lot of revenue and receive millions of viewers. There have been known situations in which star college athletes are broke because they are dedicated to a team or club, leaving them no time to pick up a part-time job and make money to buy essentials. Even though they might have a big scholarship, it doesn’t always pay for most necessities that aren’t covered by these awarded funds.

It’s almost an outrage they don’t get paid.

North Texas football student-athletes bring in the most money for the university, especially in bowl games. But even though they generate the most revenue, they don’t get a dime ,even after dedicating long hours not only to practices but for their classes.

Some say the students could receive a small share of the profits. Yes, but pay would vary — just as the universities with the more successful teams receive more airtime or money than those with less successful teams. For example, North Texas’ football team would receive more pay than the women’s soccer team because the football team gets more television time and has recent success on social media and sports news outlets. 

However, the attention to the women’s soccer team’s success is drowned out by the common popularity with the football team, even though the soccer team has been dominating for a longer period of time.

Despite more than 20 years of dominance, women’s soccer team is killing it with a 6-1-1 record on the year so far, and the football team has a 4-0 record for the first time since 1959.

With all feelings set aside, at the end of the day, it is a business and money is the unchangeable constant here. College football, as well as men’s basketball programs, earn far more than any other athletic program in general, so these athletes would likely earn more in return.

Now imagine if North Texas players were paid at the moment.

It may not be considered fair pay, but many of those who argue in support of paying college players point out that team fame and recognition generally determine what is “fair.” Essentially, if a team creates a lot of revenue for the college they represent, they will get paid more. These sports also tend to support other less trendy sports that do not bring in a lot of revenue on their own.

Most profits from college athletics do not go toward academics. Instead, they go to the coaches, athletic directors and administrators. Student-athletes do not need to receive huge earnings like their coaches, but they could still be paid a realistic amount relative to how much the program makes.

Scholarships often cover most of the student-athletes’ books and room fees, but even a few extra thousand dollars per year could make up for the lack of time these students have to earn money at a regular part-time job.

Regardless if universities choose to pay their athletes, players should still be allowed by the NCAA to receive part of the money earned from jerseys and other goods sold with their name or likeness on it. The NCAA doesn’t even allow athletes to sign jerseys or books for money, essentially enslaving these athletes.

There are good points on each side of the argument, but players should be able to receive a reasonable portion of the money they work so hard to generate. However, until there is a happy median that NCAA officials can come to in the world of college sports, student-athletes at the UNT and other universities will probably never get to fully reap the potential financial benefits of to their hard work and talent.

Featured Image: Sophomore wide receiver Terian Goree (3) receives a pass during the first drive against Middle Tennessee State University. North Texas went on to score on their first drive, however, they didn’t score again until the fourth quarter. Colin Mitchell