Apart from a salary, college athletes receive many benefits. The NCAA gives a tremendous amount of financial aid already. When one considers the idea of paying students, they are losing focus of the purpose at hand. Universities purpose is to educate amateurs to expand their knowledge and prepare them for the real world; the athletic department is entirely complementary. As attractive and exciting as college salaries sound, universities need to put an emphasis on students degrees, not their athletic future. Scholarships, financial aid, and grants are all benefits from the NCAA, and are enough. Additionally, universities obtain profits for their athletic achievements. For example, Alabama received millions of dollars and their coach, Nick Saban, was rewarded with a $500,000 bonus for winning the BCS National Championship for College Football. However, the universities and staff may not benefit as much as the players. The players are given an opportunity to play in the biggest college sports game without the help of the NCAA and universities handing out aid and scholarships. Moreover, the players are being recognized by professional recruits nationwide who are interested in sigining multi-million dollar contracts. By looking at college benefits from a broader perspective, one can understand the opportunities given, the money invested, and the reward awaiting. In fact, the idea of a college salary has never seemed so unappealing.

The college mindset can be very destructive. College athletes are simply hoping to qualify for the big leagues' drafts. With no back-up plan, this could seriously prove to be destructive. Universities need to emphasize the benefits of a college degree and disclude the dream of playing the professional league one day. By re-evaluating the purpose of college, students should understand and consider the opportunity they are currently ignoring. With a back-up plan, college students should feel much comfortable knowing they have a successful career and life ahead of them even if they don't end up on the big screen. The United States universities nationwide are not focused on spreading the influence of professional athletes nationally, they are focused on shooting out educated, sophisticated, and experienced young adults to expand the workforce, improve the society, and strengthen the economy.

Too much money in the hands of teenagers who don know responsibility may create negative consequences.

College athletics are supposed to foster sportive spirit and athleticism.  Paying college athletes will make the collge sports even more commercialized than they are today.

College athletes spend so much time and effort on their chosen sport that they are essentially committed to becoming pros in their sport; so, why not reward them for their effort?

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