With no possible way to put every single student athlete on full scholarships and the cost of college becoming increasingly more and more expensive, more students find themselves in major debt that they aren’t able to pay off until much later in life, sometimes even into retirement.

Not only is being a student athlete extremely tough just due to the grueling workout schedule, practices and games every week, adding in a college education, which most students already struggle with, can be very overwhelming. According to EducationData.org, 40% of undergraduate students drop out, which goes to show how difficult it is just to graduate college with no other extracurricular activities, like sports.

These are just a few of the many reasons why I believe that collegiate athletes should be compensated for their time.

I know from personal experience that being a full time student is nothing to joke about. And although I am not in college, I have struggled to balance both sports and school throughout high school. If I was trying to manage both in a tougher scene such as college, and was not on a scholarship, I would definitely want some sort of benefits or compensation for my hard work.

It is quite literally impossible for every student athlete to be put on scholarships, which is why so many student athletes find themselves knee-high in debt for what can be decades. According to CollegeAd, even the best student athletes average around $3,000 in debt every year. If colleges compensated athletes, even a tiny bit, it could help with this number.

One way to help student athletes would be to put a salary cap on the amount of money coaches and staff members could earn. By doing so, there would be money that would be able to go directly to the athletes. 

Another possibility would be to give more options to athletes, allow them to have more benefits such as health care and insurances. In dangerous sports where injuries are likely to happen, there should be a system that doesn’t bankrupt a player for simply playing a sport they love.

A typical argument that is brought up to argue against compensating athletes is that athletics isn’t the only way through college. It is also said that since it is a choice to compete, student athletes shouldn’t earn money.

However, this argument is very flawed. Although it is not the only option to complete college, student athletes who aren’t on scholarships are competing for no money and no benefits. If these players still want to compete even though they are getting nothing from it financially, they are clearly doing it for the love of the sport. 

Student athletes must deal with lots of things after their graduation. These can and in many cases do include lifelong pains and debt that can last until their retirements. It is simply not fair to almost bankrupt a person just because they want to compete in a sport they love.