Right off the bat, I will tell you that I am biased on this topic. I played football at UCLA in the mid to late 1990s. I have been on the other size of Oz’s curtain and I know what it is like.

I have had this argument (should college athletes get paid, do they deserve more, etc.) with friends and family in the past and will have it many more times in the future.

Bottom line, YES, I do believe college football players should get paid and be able to form a union to protect themselves. If they don’t, who will?

The NCAA? Not too sure I would jump on their shoulders and cheer too loud for them. They say it isn’t about the money but, in reality, it’s all about the money. On every angle you look at this topic, it’s all about the money.

If it is not about the all-mighty dollar, why do universities sell jerseys with their team’s top players’ numbers on them? Why not just wipe out that process altogether and sell No. 00 jerseys? Answer: No one would wear that number because it’s not related to a college athlete.

The colleges and universities know they aren’t selling jerseys; they are selling their top QB, RB or DL. It’s obvious. It’s too obvious.

It’s also obvious the top athletes who are making the colleges millions don’t see one dime of the money. Nothing.

How many No. 2 football jerseys do you think Texas A&M sold prior to Johnny Manziel’s last two highlighteel seasons? I would bet none.

Now, how much money do you think they estimate Manziel has brought in to the university in less than two years?

Ready for the answer … $37 million! All money that the university would have never seen had it not been for their star athlete playing the game of football.

And that money will keep on coming into the college while he plays in the NFL because he attracted fans and fans spend money. The more fans, the more they will spend and the more the school will spend to make the school look better (FYI: Texas A&M is about to finish adding 20,000 more seats to its stadium) and attract more boosters and students.

Go ahead and check to see schools’ application numbers after they do well in football. They always rise because the school gets more television exposure and students want to go to a wellecognized school with a winning team.

But the argument goes, a kid in college shouldn’t get that money since they are usually not very mature and would blow it right away. Fine, put it away and give it to them when they are off to the pros or graduate (that will really pick up graduation rates). I am all for that and think it could easily work.

One argument is that football players get paid by having their education covered and even a scholarship check to boot. There are a lot of holes in this argument.

Yes, just like a student on academic scholarship, a football player’s schooling is paid for. That is where the correlation ends.

You see, a student on academic scholarship has to be a top-tier student. That is all. Don’t get in trouble, keep your grades up and represent the university well and you’re good. Plus, they have the ability to get a job when they are not in class.

A football player on scholarship has to do all of those things, without having time to get a job AND has to play football. Big deal you say? It’s just a game you say?

Think about it like this, an average college football player’s schedule looks something like this during season …

• Work out at 6 a.m.
• Class from 8 a.m. to noon
• Physical therapy from 1 to 2 p.m.
• Meetings from 2 to 3 p.m.
• Practice from 3 to 6 p.m.
• Training table (mandatory dinner with the team) from 7 to 8 p.m.
• Tutoring from 8 to 10 p.m.
• Do it all again the next day.

A college football player simply has no time for anything else. They don’t have time for a job. No job means no money.

But they get scholarship checks from the university, you say? That check is nothing. It is so bad that even the NCAA admits that a “full scholarship” does not cover the basic necessities for a college athlete. My check at UCLA back in the late ’90s was approximately $800 per month. My rent alone was $450. After bills and food, there was NEVER any money left. Trust me, I was not buying anything crazy or anything at all. I wasn’t going to Disneyland every day, or ever. Without help from a parent, a football player on scholarship doesn’t survive.

With inflation and rent price increases, this check has increased to around $1,300 now. Ask any player living in L.A., and this barely covers rent and a few bills and meals.

In doing research for this piece, I spoke with several current college athletes and every single one said what they get is not even close to enough. They often will go without eating meals in order to save money to make sure the bills are paid. (fyi: since this article was written, the NCAA has adjusted to allow unlimited meals to college athletes less than two weeks after Connecticut guard and Final Four Most Outstanding Player Shabazz Napier made headlines by saying he often goes to bed starving)

One must wonder if the heads of the universities athletic departments or the NCAA are having to skip breakfast in order to make sure they have gas in their car to get to job/practice?

My bet is no.

Can you see how much time the athlete must dedicate to football? This is why they are so adamant about getting to be a union. So they can have some rights. So they can eventually get some compensation for being on the field and getting beat up all year long and risk life-altering injuries.

Anyone can do it? Not true. Only a certain few have the ability to do it.

To be a college athlete, to maintain the highest standards on the field and in the classroom takes a special person and that special person should be fairly compensated and protected.