The huge amount of money being made off college sports has led some to question whether student-athletes can be considered amateurs any longer, and whether they should, instead, be paid for their efforts. The New York Times' Joe Nocera has been beating the drum to reform the NCAA, and he is certainly not alone. A group of former players has filed an antitrust lawsuit alleging that student athletes are entitled to some of the money the NCAA makes off of using their names and likenesses on merchandise such as jerseys and video games.

The NCAA basketball tournaments, or "March Madness," have become a huge business. As Forbes' Chris Smith wrote, CBS and Turner Broadcasting make more than $1 billion off the games, "thanks in part to a $700,000 ad rate for a 30-second spot during the Final Four." Athletic conferences receive millions of dollars in payouts from the NCAA when their teams advance deep into the tournament. Ditto for the coaches of the final squads standing. The NCAA, as a whole, makes $6 billion annually.

Yes they should went paid Collegiate athletes lay it all on the line when they compete. Just like their professional counterparts, they play the game with heart and soul. Why, then, are they not given monetary compensation in return for all the blood, sweat and tears they shed for their school?According to “Let’s start paying college athletes” by Joe Nocera of The New York Times, the 15 highest-paid NCAA football coaches made $53.4 million; meanwhile, the 13,877 Division I players made $0.I realize that for those coaches, this is their career, and they are not serving double duty as students. But for those players, every practice, scrimmage and game requires an immense amount of time and a significant amount of risk.I’m not calling for giving college athletes the ability to sign endorsement contracts and other high-profile financial benefits, but why not at least pay them for playing?A large amount of time for a college athlete goes into his or her respective sport, an average of 50 hours a week, according to Nocera. That equates to more than a full-time job, which I’m sure if you asked an athlete, that’s exactly what playing a sport is.The argument from the NCAA is that if you start paying the players, it is no longer an amateur sports league, which goes against tradition. They also argue that these athletes are primarily students and, of course, many of them are on an athletic scholarship. So, in a way they’re being paid for their commitment.In 2011, Mark Emmert, the president of the NCAA, pushed to allow Division I schools to pay their athletes a $2,000 stipend to help the offset the difference in covering their college tuition. Unfortunately, in the attempt to give these athletes some kind of compensation, it turns out that some colleges claimed they couldn’t afford the stipend, and it was suspended indefinitely at the end of the year.Regardless of this attempt to compensate the athletes, it’s by no means what I would call a legitimate attempt.Let’s say you are an average college student putting in 30 hours a week at a minimum wage job ($7.70 per hour). That student would make roughly six times that stipend in a year. I think we can all agree that just doesn’t seem fair in any way, shape or form.Sure, these athletes are also college students and not professionals, but why not at least pay them a decent wage for the hours they dedicate to these university athletic programs? In their success on the field, the university succeeds as well.

They're just as good as the pros. Some college athletes don’t have time to get a job with being a student and the responsibilities of being an athlete at the same time. Then some of the scholarships they receive don’t fully cover their tuition while they bring in millions of dollars that go to the coaches and staff without seeing a penny. Colleges should AT LEAST be paying their full tuition to the school. At most they should be paying them yearly for playing on the sports team. But not all athletes should be paid because there are athletes that were just lucky to make the team or don’t provide a contribution though it’s sad to say but it’s the truth. That’s why I believe only Division1 athletes should be paid. Division 1 athletes are the ones who get the most attention not only from the fans of the sport and media but also from professional managers when drafting comes around.

I was against this for so long, until I opened my mind a little bit. Hear what I have to say and maybe you'll agree too... Whether you think it's stereotypical or not, many of these college athletes come from poor, inner city backgrounds. Especially for sports like football and basketball. Yes, they are being paid in education, and in many cases, their tuition is being paid either in full or in part, but what about living expenses? A few hundred bucks a month is fair to me to cover the cost of food and living expenses that aren't covered by the school.

College players are hard-working members of a university sports team. Sports can be very dangerous, what happens if someone breaks a bone or gets a concussion? How will they pay the hospital bill? Colleges make millions of dollars on sports games, and how much of that do the players receive? Not a single penny. The players are the ones who are bringing in the money. They are the ones who attract the crowds. College athletes spend about 50 hours a week practicing, playing games, and working harder than ever without receiving a paycheck. Who are the ones shedding blood, sweat, and tears on the field? Who are the ones putting their heart and dedication into the game? Who are the ones practicing for hours, even days at a time? The players. But who receives the paychecks? The coaches. 845 billion. That is the amount the collages made off of sports games last year. Zero. That is how much the players made.Think about it. The colleges are using the players. The players are fooled into thinking that they are getting the better half of the bargain by “letting” them come to the college for free. But they end up working for the college for free. No money received for their backbreaking work. This is completely unfair. The players deserve to be paid.

Yes they should College athletes should be paid to play because they are busting their butts to help give their college a good name on athletics. They go to school full time and they also work and do their sport. So I say yes! They need to get paid for their amazing skills!

One aspect I find lacking in this topic discussion is the ignoring of the very real fact that a lot of athletes are very financially irresponsible. The ESPN documentary Broke gave an inside view of the financial woes of many professional athletes, noting that around 60% of NBA players are broke within five years of retirement.

Journalist Michael Wilbon has written that seeing the $11 billion deal between the NCAA and CBS/Turner Sports for March Madness between 2011 and 2024 prompted him to change his mind about paying student-athletes. This deal shows the amount of money the NCAA is bringing in over the course of one month alone. March Madness is one of the most watched sporting events in the country. Yet the money being made off this event is not trickling down to the players, who are the stars of the tournament.

In the 2013 NCAA tournament Louisville player Kevin Ware suffered a horrific injury to his lower right leg while attempting to block an opposing player’s shot. Six months later, Ware was healed and back to practicing. He was lucky. There have been instances of players becoming paralyzed by hits or tackles on football fields or other injuries that have ended player’s careers before they even get started.

2.  Although the NCAA claims college athletes are just students, the NCAA’s own tournament schedules require college athletes to miss classes for nationally televised games that bring in revenue.

9.  Much of the huge revenues collected from college athletics do not go directly back into the classroom.

8. This year, the University of Alabama reported $143.3 Million in athletic revenues — more than all 30 NHL teams and 25 of the 30 NBA teams.

7.  The NCAA currently produces nearly $11 Billion in annual revenue from college sports — more than the estimated total league revenues of both the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League.

But as schools across the country grapple with tight budgets, some are changing their minds and accepting the lower-price alternative product that brings down the price of the food they serve.