Should NCAA Athletes Get Paid?

NIL started in July of 2021. The Washington Post states, “ NIL is why, immediately after Caitlin Clark broke the scoring record in women’s college basketball last week, Nike fired off social media posts, which doubled as ads, which were all part of a sponsorship deal that puts a significant amount of cash in Clark’s pocket.” Do you think the NIL is a good thing or a bad thing?

Some student athletes are staying in college all 4 years instead of leaving and declaring for the draft in their sport because good NCAA athletes can make more money their senior year than their rookie year in the pro leagues. Some people think this is a good thing because it rewards players for playing good and earning money, while some people think this is a bad thing because it just hands NCAA athletes money that is more than what a pro league hands out to their rookie players. CNBC states, “Clemson's preseason All-American signal caller Trevor Lawrence, would earn up to $2.4 million per season, on average. A star wide receiver would earn up to $1.3 million per year.” Rookie NFL players make a minimum of $750,000. This shows that NCAA athletes can make more than professional athletes in their rookie season.