Top 3 Reasons Why College Athletes Should get Paid

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Should college athletes get paid? While experts and athletes alike fall on either side of this question, there has been major discussion on what the NCAA intends to in the future. While nothing is set in stone, there are few key reasons as to why it might be a good idea to for college athletes to start making some money.Sports_icon

It’s a Full-Time job

Typically, College Athletes devote around 40 hours a week (which is a typical American work week) to his or her sport and that does not include work done in the classroom or hours doing homework. Another important thing to consider is that these athletes have to maintain a certain grade point average (gpa) to be able to stay with the team during the season and keep their scholarship. It can add a lot of stress on the athlete both mentally and physically.

Help Manage Money

If student athletes would get paid it would be a great way to teach them how to manage their money during college and beyond. These useful tools can be extremely beneficial for students to grasp the importance of having a savings accounts early on so when they graduate college they are not faced with the financial struggles we so often hear about recent graduates.. Whether they go on to make millions playing professional or chose to pursue different dreams, these skills are both practical and transferable for student athletes.

Raise the Level of Play

Some suggest that paying student athletes would raise their level of performance. Many believe this can ruin the competitiveness of college sports, but if we think about professional athletes, and how their pay scale ranges significantly, this argument really goes nowhere. In the professional ranks, when athletes perform at a high level they are compensated with a salary increase and a bonus. Now, for those young and hungry college students who give everything they have one the field already, why wouldn’t you think it boost their work ethic even more? If students did not have to worry about their finances, they could spend more time focusing on practicing for their specific sport and doing well in school.

It is still to be seen if the NCAA will eventually pursue this idea, but I can tell you one thing, it will be constantly discussed among players, coaches and NCAA officials for years to come.

 

Wayne Chrebet, Business Man

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Wayne Chrebet, who played for the New York Jets from 1996-2003 made a transition from wide receiver to the finance world as soon as he retired from football.  He was a fan favorite throughout  his successful Jets career. Last December, he was inducted into the New York Jets Ring of Honor during halftime of a Monday Night Football game against the Miami Dolphins.

In 2009, Chrebet joined Morgan Stanley as a financial advisor and would work out of their Red Bank office in New Jersey. After four years of working there he would then join Barclays Capital as a financial advisor and Assistant Vice President working in New York City.  This opportunity came to him when he met Ed Moldaver, whom was a Senior Vice President at Morgan Stanley at the time. Moldaver liked what he saw in Crebert and the two would then make their way to the Barclays. Moldaver, Lee and Chrebet Group would be the team they started at Barclays together and it was regarded as one of the top teams in Barclays.

Their goal was to be committed to helping clients manage their earnings and show that opportunities will soon arise because of this.

During Chrebet’s playing days with the New York Jets was when he started  to think about his future after football and what he would do with his money. Bill Parcells, who was his head coach at the time gave him some great advice to start putting money away early on his NFL career. Parcells said that the football does not last forever and you need to be able to have a backup plan after your playing days were over. Parcells is right, it doesn’t hurt to start thinking about it sooner than later.  Chrebet also discussed finance with many of teammates and started paying close attention CNBC regularly.

He would make yet another big move during his finance career as he recently has left Barclays Wealth Management and is joining Stifel Financial Corp. This a major move for Chrebet as he will be leaving a management team with $2 billion in assets. He has enjoyed countless success over the years and I believe he will continue to with his new job.

 

DraftKings and FanDuel Continue Under Fire

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The new booming entertainment for sports fans has been daily fantasy.  Daily fantasy, lead by industry leaders DraftKings and FanDuel, is a game users can play everyday by simply setting a lineup with players who are playing that day with a salary cap and  compete against other users different player combinations.  The entries cost money and users who put together lineups that produce the most points ultimately win money.  Now is this gambling?

FanDuel and DraftKingsDaily Fantasy had been operating for the past few years across the United States with an exception of a few states but once a DraftKings employee won $350,000 while playing on FanDuel, people began to speculate if the DraftKings had an unfair advantage.  There is data within each site that allows you to know what percentage a player is being selected in a set game or tournament.  While the data varies from game to game, it still is fairly consistent.  That said, could an employee from one site play on another having a better idea of what good players are not being selected?

The DraftKings employee was proven innocent of any cheating but the scandal has since left a sour taste in the daily fantasy industry, especially Attorney General Eric Schneiderman of New York.  Eric Schneiderman called to have daily fantasy halted in New York claiming it’s a form of gambling.  This has both FanDuel and DraftKings up in arms and fighting the ruling.  While the two sites originally planned to allow players play through, FanDuel recently temporarily banned play in New York for it’s users.  DraftKings has hired David Boies as their attorney during this legal process.

Boies is a great hire having had one of the most prolific history in law.  He’s represented the NBA Players Association during the 2011 lockout season, Napster during their infringement days, George Steinbrenner when he was suing MLB and even Al Gore in Bush v. Gore to name a few of his cases.  Boies is confident he can turn things around for DraftKings.  How long will this take?

Not many know but it should be interesting to see it play out.