Look at the women's cross country team at a school like Eastern Michigan. They train more hours than a full-time job, but their sport sells maybe fifty tickets a year. Their scholarship is worth tens of thousands of dollars, plus tutoring, academic support, and a built-in career network. If we start paying every athlete, where does that money come from? Football and basketball would have to subsidize everyone else, and that breeds resentment within the program. The exploitation argument falls apart when you realize only about two percent of NCAA athletes ever go pro. The other ninety-eight percent are here for an education, and they're getting it free. Paying them would turn college into a minor league system and corrupt the academic mission. We shouldn't blow up the whole model over a handful of superstars who already have NIL deals. The system isn't perfect, but handing out cash isn't the fix.

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