Opinion: College athletes already compensated enough

Editor's note: Grace Rozembajgier of Carmel, Ind., will be a junior at University High School this fall. She was in Iowa City last week as part of the University of Iowa's Summer Journalism Workshop for high school students and offered this story. 

IOWA CITY — It's common knowledge that college sports are an important part of American culture.

They have the magical ability to simultaneously bring people together and tear people apart. Hard-fought victories become legend and heartbreaking losses often produce tears.

On game days, hundreds of thousands of eyes turn to groups of college students, and watch as they are either cheered or jeered.

Recently, fans, parents and college students alike have questioned whether college athletes in high-revenue sports such as football and men's basketball should be paid for the pressure they endure.

The fact of the matter is, they already are.

According the NCAA, 56 percent of all Division I student-athletes receive some sort of athletic scholarship. In football, each team is allowed 85 scholarships (all full ride) per roster, and an average of 25 players are signed per year. For basketball, 13 scholarships are available for a 12-person team.

These full athletic scholarships are equivalent to about $65,000 ($45,000 for tuition, $20,000 for room and board) per year at a private or out-of-state university and about $13,000 at an in-state school.

Let's say a college athlete was paid $100,000 a year. As an employee, an athlete would have to pay taxes — about $23,800 for income tax and around $6,700 for state tax, a total of $30,500. With a state levy, this number raises to $32,900. Another $2,000 must be allocated to Social Security and other taxes, bringing student-athlete tax expenses to $34,900. When subtracted from the $100,000 salary, the athlete is left with $65,100.

But since they receive salary instead of scholarship, $65,000 must be subtracted for tuition costs, leaving the student with $100.

On the other hand, if a college athlete did not receive a paycheck, the $45,000 tuition scholarship would be tax-deductible, leaving the student with a tax bill of about $620 (after a $200 federal tax refund, and an $820 state tax). In theory, this method allows $64,380 of the $65,000 scholarship to go toward the athlete's college education.

Numbers don't lie. A $100 net income is a scarce amount, and, beyond that, athletes on scholarship receive a much better deal than athletes on salary. In addition to a free college education (which can prepare students for a job after they retire athletically), student-athletes often travel free of charge on charter planes to quality hotels where they enjoy complimentary meals. The Division I athletics program also provides athletes with the opportunity to showcase their talent to potential employers for four years, while most students only receive a 30-minute interview.

Additionally, most Division I schools provide free medical care to their athletes. University of Iowa women's rowing head coach Andrew Carter explained how the Iowa athletics department would provide health insurance if and when the athlete's personal insurance doesn't cover care.

'We have them surrounded,' Carter said. 'No matter where a student falls — academically, medically, athletically, socially — there's someone there to catch them.'

Student athletes also have free access to state-of-the-art facilities. Multimillion dollar stadiums and practice facilities are common, if not expected, at Division I schools.

Most of these renovations are paid through donations, despite the tens of millions of dollars athletes generate for their schools. This is because the majority of this profit goes toward funding for nonrevenue sports.

'Football and ... men's basketball are really the only sports that profit,' University of Iowa associate athletics communications director Matt Weitzel said. 'Revenue from football tickets, concessions sales, merchandise, etcetera, supports all sports.'

At the end of the day, it comes down to the fact student-athletes are students first, athletes second, and therefore endure all the long hours and exhaustion that come from the college experience.

The American education system is uniquely based around the idea of equality and equal opportunity. By paying student-athletes, this equality is disregarded, as student-athletes are valued above their peers. As basketball coach Bob Knight once said, paying college athletes would diminish the value of education.