Every year, college sports generates billions in revenue. Stadiums are packed, jerseys are sold, TV rights are auctioned off for outrageous sums — and yet the athletes, the ones we actually show up to see, go home with nothing but a scholarship and a broken promise.Let’s not sugarcoat it: college athletics is a business, and its unpaid labor force wears jerseys with school logos. While coaches sign $10 million contracts and athletic directors enjoy private jets, players often struggle to afford food, rent, or even basic necessities. They risk lifelong injury, mental health deterioration, and academic burnout — all while the NCAA touts the romantic myth of "amateurism."
And that myth? It's outdated and hypocritical. Amateurism has become the NCAA’s golden excuse for not sharing the pie. They claim paying athletes would "corrupt" the purity of college sports — but what’s more corrupt: compensating athletes for their labor, or building an empire on their backs while calling them “students first”?
The counterargument? "They get scholarships." Yes, but a free education doesn't pay hospital bills after an ACL tear. It doesn't cover family expenses back home. It certainly doesn’t match the revenue players generate every game.
This isn't just a sports issue. It’s a labor rights issue. If you're good enough to fill stadiums, sign endorsement deals, and sell merchandise with your name and number on it — you deserve a cut.
We’ve normalized profiting off unpaid, predominantly Black labor in the name of tradition. Sound familiar?
It's time to stop romanticizing exploitation and start demanding justice for the athletes who carry the entire system on their backs. Either pay them — or admit the whole game is rigged.