Paying Student Atheletes: Solution to the Problem or Just a Dead End Street?

Recently, several colleges, coaches and players have been under fire from the NCAA about rules violations. Ohio State, Reggie Bush, USC and Jim Tressel headline this group of slick talkers and deal makers who tried to evade the rules and benefit from illegal actions.

The NCAA has handed out hefty penalties and fines to these players and institutions, but is that really enough to stop these scandals or could something else be done? One suggestion that has spread like wildfire is the idea of paying college football players for every game played.

As with any topic, there are pros and cons to this argument, so let's compare and see if this would be a truly effective alternative. 

Paying the players would most likely cut down on the "behind the scenes" dealings that players are so often getting caught up in.AJ Green was dealt a four-game suspension for selling a personally owned jersey on line for $1,000. I believe that If Green was getting a game-by-game stipend, he would have never sold something so valuable to him. Players will also be able to have spending money without stealing laptops as in the Cam Newton case at Florida.Paying players has many positive benefits, which was proved by SEC coaches voting that paying players $300 per game was a good idea.

Paying football players for every game they play can also have some devastating consequences. If schools begin to pay football players on a game-by-game basis, then other teams will obviously want to be paid as well.When schools add together all of these stipends, it can be a very costly bill. This may not be as big of an issue for the University of Texas or the University of Florida, but it can be a program stopper for schools such as Boise State and Troy.

Another issue is that student-athletes will always want more. The players will want $600 instead of $300, and then they will want $1,200 instead of $600. Creating a policy for paying players will be very difficult to create and monitor.

I personally believe that paying players is a very bad idea. The NCAA would have to spend years creating a pay-for-play system that can actually be successful in college sports. In my opinion this will not solve the problem.Eighteen-year-old students will always make youthful decisions when put under pressure. There may be a successful solution to this problem, but I do not believe that paying players is the key.