Consider two men, a songwriter and a quarterback. During his time as a Berklee student, John Mayer could have accepted paying gigs, released an album, even sold music rights to filmmakers. But 2012 Heisman-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel—whose team at the end of last season earned Texas A&M an estimated $37 million in media exposure—can’t profit from endorsement deals or sales of products bearing his name and likeness. A shot at going professional, together with scholarships, is supposed to be compensation enough. And while musicians can continue working for decades, athletes have short careers. A player who stays in college for four years is probably giving a large percentage of his prime earning years away for free. He also risks serious injury, a point highlighted by the broken leg that befell Louisville’s Kevin Ware so gruesomely during the NCAA tournament. Ware’s recovering well, but if problems flare up later in life, neither the NCAA nor his alma mater is likely to be on the hook for additional medical care. It’s no surprise so many athletes drop out and head to the pros as soon as possible. bostonglobe/magazine/2013/05/18/ware-and-manziel-reasons-why-ncaa-should-pay-athletes/CIn9k7REgZs2ei4RPeCquI/story.html
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 23:36:46 +0000
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