$2.8 million -- the average lifetime value (in 1999 dollars) of a college degree. And that number is spread across all occupations (so sociology, social work, teaching, etc.) and not weighted for quality of the institution, alumni connections, etc. Between the ages of 25-32, the salary delta between those with a college degree and those without is $17,500 per year. That gap only gets larger as the ages increase.
Add to that a really key point that many of these kids are getting into and attending universities they either never would have dreamed of gaining admission to based on test scores and/or couldn't have afforded to attend even if they gained acceptance.
So what's the point? It's not that kids shouldn't go pro whenever they feel like it. It's also not that there can't be tweaks to the system (like a full cost scholarship that includes books, room and board, some sort of small stipend, etc.).
But the idea that these kids are getting screwed b/c they make 'no money' is absolutely absurd. I mean, no one is making the argument that kids in D3 should get paid are they? I mean, where do the universities even get that money?
And, for the record, paying all athletes is every bit as unfair as paying no athletes in that there are very few of these kids that are marketable on their own. Yet you're going to pay them all equally?
