[Dark Knight]

Any promising college athlete can have their future destroyed in a moment with an injury. Colleges don’t compensate for the worth they bring to the team and most of the time they cannot immediately go pro where their worth is compensated for directly. Free republic should be cherishing their ability to market their skills at any level. The athletes are adults, and should be free to make a contract for their obviously marketed talents. The only thing that changes is who gets compensated, and if the talent is not compensated and prohibited with the okay by government, then the monopoly should be “reevaluated”.

Freepers in favor of government backed monopolies...twilight zone time.

DK

[PAR35]

College football players can negotiate for a paid insurance policy to protect them from a career ending injury. Star players can also negotiate moves to different teams.

[MinorityRepublican]

Any promising college athlete can have their future destroyed in a moment with an injury. Colleges dont compensate for the worth they bring to the team and most of the time they cannot immediately go pro where their worth is compensated for directly. Free republic should be cherishing their ability to market their skills at any level. The athletes are adults, and should be free to make a contract for their obviously marketed talents. The only thing that changes is who gets compensated, and if the talent is not compensated and prohibited with the okay by government, then the monopoly should be reevaluated.

[MinorityRepublican]

Freepers in favor of government backed monopolies...twilight zone time.

Just because it's how we've done things back in the day doesn't mean it's right.

[Thibodeaux]

life is risk

the jocks take the risk mostly for glory

going pro is ancillary

[dfwgator]

I don’t believe they lose their scholarships if they get hurt. Considering how much tuitions cost. It costs probably around $200,000 to go to college for 4 years. I would say they had better take advantage of that, because there are no guarantees in athletics.

[gusty]

What I think people are saying is that Universities should be places of learning, not sports franchises. I am all for the private sector in sports, but I would rather see the Birmingham Gladiators of the Southern Football League instead of the University of Alabama of the SEC. Yes I say get the government out of sports, since a big percentage of big time college football teams are in essence owned by the government, that is why they are called “State Schools”. Tax dollars should not be used so the NFL can have a minor league for free. As for paying the players, it would due to the laws of unintended consequences be a disaster for the athletes. A large majority of the players would be payed very little on top of their scholarship. However now being an employee instead of a student, everything they receive becomes taxable income. That scholarship from Notre Dame would be $50,000 income. Most players on scholarship wouldn't be able to pay the tax bill come April 15.

[IrishBrigade]

Colleges don’t compensate for the worth they bring to the team

are the colleges are holding a gun to the heads of these athletes, telling them they have to play sports or else...?
Seems to me these athletes are perfectly free to tell the colleges to pound sand if they think they’re being exploited...