These schools are able to recruit some of the most highly talented athletes in the country and generate profit at a level many professional teams are unable to beat, while brushing off any thought of paying their competitors. .
Not only are these student athletes being undercompensated for the tremendous amount of work they put in, but they're also the ones who are putting their own bodies at risk. College athletes put their own body and health at risk to the same extent as a professional athlete. In the last few years 13 football players in the Midwest alone were diagnosed with Rhadomlysis (Starner). This disease causes skeletal tissue to breakdown and get into your bloodstream, which will ultimately lead to kidney failure. Each of these 13 college athletes were profitable to the university while their health was at a direct risk. Now they have a lifelong disease that was a direct cause of football, while the university has to cover the bills for at most four years. Division 1 athletic events generate over $6 billion annually (Wilbon). In contrast, the total team revenue for the entire National Basketball Association (NBA) in one year is just $3.2 billion. With this massive revenue, ESPN analyst Johnny August estimates the average Division 1 male football or basketball player has a worth of roughly $100,000/year. The University of Alabama's football program has won three of the last four last national championships. They pay their head coach, Nick Saban, a massive $5 million/year (Nocera). This is just a drop in the bucket compared to their profit margin, which was $82 million in 2012 alone. Combined with the other athletic programs the Alabama Crimson Tide made $124.5 million.
Simply put, the current NCAA system has created a monopoly. Straight out of high school the nations top performing athletes are given the option to play at a big university, or give up their dreams of being a pro.
