Jonah's Jabs: Student/athletes' salaries

By Jonah Unger
Staff Writer

March Madness can be a fun time in the sports world, or it can be a very stressful time of year.

For people who do not follow college basketball, or live under a rock, March Madness is another name for the single-elimination college basketball tournament with 68 Division 1 teams from around the nation facing off. 

This tournament is an exciting thing for sports fans. Even those who do not follow college sports very much can respect such a large tournament. However when it comes to college-level sports, there is a strong debate on whether or not student/athletes should get paid.

On July 1, 2021 the Supreme Court made a decision to allow student athletes to be compensated for the use of athletes’ names, as well as allowing the athletes to participate in endorsements and accept money donors. 

According to Investopedia, the NCAA makes $1.14 billion in revenue, with a lot of that being due to March Madness. 

I think one thing that made college sports so interesting in the past was that the players were not getting paid. This meant there was a chip on the players’ shoulders, with top athletes all fighting for a spot at the professional level.

There are still plenty of athletes in college sports that are competing for a shot at the professional level, but now it feels less important. It is almost as if that grittiness isn’t there anymore.

According to comparably.com, the average student/athlete salary is $64,168 a year. That is a lot of money for an 18 year old to have.

Not only do they get paid a generous amount, but according to claconnect.com, student/athletes are not being taxed on the money they make.

I understand the feeling of wanting to take care of your loved ones as well as yourself financially. I can only imagine how hard it was in the past to stay focused on sports when your family is struggling. I could also understand the frustration student/athletes might have felt when people started to realize how much money the NCAA was making off of them. 

In conclusion I think it would be fair to say that student/athletes are deserving of compensation. That being said, I think $60,000 a year is way too much money for any student/athlete, especially if the money is not being taxed.