California’s new law requiring colleges and universities to pay college players will have a negative impact on these schools. The rate of intake for these full scholarships will go down and there is a possibility a lot of schools will not be able to afford the legislation.
California recently passed a law that would require universities to offer compensation for college athletes’ sports participation. This is in addition to a full scholarship that they already receive. On paper, this sounds like a genius plan that will elevate these students to be financially independent, pursuing their dream jobs while still playing sports.
This, however, is not the case and if implemented countrywide, it will be very damaging and disastrous to over 500,000 college athlete students who participate each year in university sports. basketball, football, rowing, swimming, track and field, gymnastics and other sports are offered by colleges and universities and to say they will slightly struggle to compensate the students is an understatement.
Negative effect of the law on college athletes
The law will also eliminate a century-old national enterprise that has provided opportunities to millions of students. It is true that the law might end up helping some students, but the fact is that 99 percent of college athletes do not go pro after college education. They end up switching to other carriers and enjoying opportunities they would otherwise have missed if they were denied scholarships.
The fact is, this sport is a low revenue endeavor that relies on donors and corporate funds to athletics programs in these universities. If pushed to the edge, there is no assurance that these donors will stay. There is also the fact that there is not a lot of funds going around in these college sports and no money is being made also, unlike organization such as the NBA.
A better approach for the state of California would have been to propose that the NBA and other pro sports can be able to take professional straight from high school. The current rules have a mandatory one year in college rule that must be adhered to. This will help students to fast track their professional sports carriers and get paid.