It is both undeniably true that players are compensated in the form of a ludicrously priced education as well as a variety of expenses, and also really bizarre to say that seeking to capitalize on their enormous economic value they possess for a very limited period in their lives represents "choosing not to value" the benefits they're already receiving.
Being committed to a college education and seeking the full value of your labor are not mutually exclusive in any way, shape or form.
And let's not be blind to the way in which the programs themselves devalue the players degrees by pressuring them into the easiest, least prestigious, least valuable, and thus least interfering with "optional" over-hours sports work classes and majors.
Senator, we're both a part of the same hypocrisy.
Post of the year.
I think people who always argue "BUT THE SCHOLARSHIP IS WORTH SO MUCH!!1!!1! LOOK HOW MUCH I PAID FOR MY KIDS" forget that these high major players are 100% explicitly told to major in the easiest major possible so as not to interfere with their dedication to their sport (read an article a couple months ago where Purdue players were told to their faces to not study engineering). Look at UNC, what is the value of that education they were getting with sham classes? No offense to anyone's kids but they were not asked to practice daily, represent the university on the national stage day in and day out resulting in ginormous television contracts, jersey and ticket sales, all the while forbidden to get part time jobs even if they needed the money.
So in the end, the university
is giving them a scholarship, but implicitly telling them to only focus on sports and making the
school money in the hope that they can maybe capitalize on it in 2-4 years. In the meantime the school rakes in millions. Ohio State football itself was recently valued at a BILLION actually!
At least letting the players profit off their likeness with endorsements and jersey sales would be a great first step. It would open the door for booster money influence of course, but it would at least be above the table and I don't think anyone could argue that that would be worse than duffel bags of cash dropped off by shoe companies.