Literature Review #1

College Athletes Are Already Paid With Their Education

Richard Burton

MLA Citation:

Burton, Richard. "Athletes Are Already Paid With Their Education." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 02 Apr. 2013. Web. 07 Oct. 2013.

Summary:

In this article, Burton provides a short but very concise argument against the the payment of college athletes. Rather than citing explanations as to why athletes do not deserve pay (like most anti-compensation enthusiasts), he tries to expand the idea that college athletes have given up their right to pay because they have displayed a certain sense of satisfaction with non-financial benefits of being a student athlete. He believes that the education the players receive is payment enough, but also eludes to the fact that many student athletes do not attend class and fraudulently breeze through the academic side of college. The blame is pushed more onto the student athlete rather than the institutions.

About the Author:

Richard Burton is the David B. Falk Professor of Sport Management at Syracuse University. He also formerly served as the CMO of the U.S. Olympic Committee. He has a long history in the sports and entertainment fields, having worked for the National Football League, Nike, and Universal Studios, amongst others.

Key Terms:

Educational Asset: the mental enhancement student athletes gain from attending a university.

"First Law of Capitalism": simplistic explanation for why the NCAA does not pay its athletes.

Quotations:

"However, since you can't trade knowledge (i.e., mental enhancement) for an immediate financial asset, higher education is often (and falsely) assumed to have no value for athletes" (Burton).

"...the NCAA, major BCS conferences, big-time universities and well-paid coaches are all expert at practicing the first law of capitalism … which is to capitalize on inefficient suppliers" (Burton).

"But I predict, someday, in the not too distant future, college athletes will learn they are leaving money on the training table and they will grasp that the whole NCAA pyramid crumbles unless they perform" (Burton).

Value:

This article shows a unique argument in the debate for college athlete compensation. It really does not take a side, but rather puts the blame on the athletes. This creates a very interesting discussion point for analysis because it is not necessarily bias toward either of the two theories in the debate.