On June 29, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed Senate Bill 5, which allows Oregon college athletes to receive compensation with their names or status in appearances, apparel, products and endorsements. While the schools will not pay the athletes directly, players can hire an agent and sign deals with companies who will pay them for the use of their “name, image, and likeness” — just as professional athletes do. Since football is Oregon’s biggest money-making college sport, those players will most likely monetize the most from this opportunity. However, not all athletes will be taking advantage of the bill.
“Anyone can make money with their NIL [name, image, or likeness] once this goes live, but not everyone will,” Jim Cavale, founder of INFLCR, a company that helps athletes build their personal brands, commented to Sporting News. “Whether it’s a $10 gift card at a pizza place that you couldn’t get then that you can now — or it’s a $100,000 deal with a regional car dealership — all those things are going to be opportunistic all of a sudden, but it’s going to take initiative from the student-athlete. That’s going to take some time because people are sensitive about navigating all these rules.”
“Our college athletes have not been treated fairly,” Senate President Peter Courtney told KGW8. “They sacrifice everything for their universities…their bodies, their relationships, their academics. Meanwhile, the NCAA and universities are making millions off their hard work… from tickets, merchandise, and concessions… all the way to enrollment.”
A Personal Experience
While the notion of paying our college athletes may seem like a no-brainer, I encourage you to dive a little deeper and view the bigger picture. Having had the opportunity to get an inside look at the lives of OSU athletes several years back, I am not convinced Courtney’s perspective is necessarily the right one.
I was employed at the Valley Football Center on the OSU Campus from the summer of 2011 to the spring of 2012. I served the OSU football team daily meals through the catering department. They had breakfast, lunch and dinner provided for them for free every day during the week. Servings were limitless and the variety was impressive.
For breakfast, we served everything from hot items like eggs and potatoes, to cold cereal, fruit, and even an entire smoothie bar. While a few managed to shamelessly give me their phone numbers during my time there, it was rare that I ever received a “thank you” for my work in serving them. The servers were practically invisible in the eyes of the team unless they felt the need to hit on us.
In order to remain eligible to compete in OSU athletics, students must complete at least six academic credits per term, 24 credits per year and 36 credits by the fourth quarter of their first year. In 2018, OSU student athletes averaged a grade point average of 3.20 for Fall Term, with 34 of those students receiving a 4.0.
The average full-ride college athletic scholarship covers tuition, room and board — in other words, unlimited healthy meals and snacks, and for some athletes, rent in expensive campus apartments, book costs, plus miscellaneous spending money. In addition, many schools offer other benefits to their scholared athletes, including free medical insurance, tutoring and financial support with sport-related injuries under the Participant Accident Program, which covers the entirety of the costs.
Athletes also have access to state-of-the-art physical therapy and highly rated strength-training coaches. Furthermore, the NCAA provides financial assistance to qualifying student athletes and their families who show “exceptional financial need”. The NCAA Special Assistance Fund allows athletes and their relatives to pay for everything from medical expenses to clothing to home travel. The funds are delivered to the PAC-12 conference in mid-June and then distributed to the athletes. One SAF component is the Pell Grant, which athletes can apply for after submitting their FAFSA. The grant currently awards up to $6,495 per year in extra funds that, unlike traditional student loans, will never need to be repaid. The awarded amount depends on factors such as academic costs and Expected Family Contribution.
The Other Side of College Fame
OSU athletes have also been the center of controversies on more than one occasion.
In 2017, former OSU football player Jordan-Alexander Pace was accused of four counts of rape in the first degree, unlawful penetration in the first degree, sodomy in the first degree, and sexual abuse in the first degree. Although courts later dismissed the charges due to “insufficient evidence,” Pace’s accuser held firmly to her claims and was left “saddened and disappointed” by the court’s decision. His record was later sealed and, according to Pace’s social media profile, he continued studying psychology at OSU until this year.
In 1998, 24-year-old Brenda Tracy accused four men, including three OSU football players, of sexual assault. Tracy said she was “gang-raped, sodomized, and robbed” as a group of other men stood by, cheering the perpetrators on. OSU head football coach Mike Riley called the incident a “bad choice” and gave two of the players involved a slap on the wrist with a one-game suspension. Tracy claims she was told the men would more than likely be acquitted — and so she dropped the charges.
According to the Houston Chronicle, OSU was one of 10 schools investigated by ESPN’s Outside the Lines in 2015 in efforts to show whether college athletes receive special treatment in regards to the law.
During the study, they found that Texas A&M University athletes had been involved in 50 reported crimes at that time, with only 40% resulting in charges. Even worse, Florida State University had reported 80 crimes involving their athletes, of which only 44% were charged. The study compared these findings with crimes of male non-athletes who were of college-age and found that those individuals were charged for their crimes 72% of the time.
Athletes Are Still People
College athletes are not bad people and they do deserve to be compensated for what they do. I know that athletes dedicate a huge amount of time and energy for the sports they play. They give it all for the dream of falling into the 2% of NCAA college athletes who turn pro. I saw the unwavering dedication on their faces every day — they work hard, and that is admirable.
However, the picture the Oregon Senate has painted of victimized college athletes being treated “unfairly” is a misrepresentation of the full story. In many ways, athletes have always been paid, and are viewed by the public through rose-colored glasses. Do college athletes deserve to be paid for what they do? Whether your answer to this question is a resounding “yes” or a definite “no,” you are probably right.
By: Rebekah Harcrow
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