Here's the basic problem: college athletes are students first. Paying them salaries turns that upside down. When you introduce salaries, you introduce employment contracts, collective bargaining, and the ability to fire underperformers. That's not education anymore — that's a minor league with a class schedule tacked on. Most athletic programs already lose money. Only about 20-30 schools actually turn a profit on sports. The rest are subsidized by student fees and university budgets. So who's paying these salaries? Other students. That's a regressive tax on people who chose college for academics. The current system isn't perfect, but scholarships already cover tuition, room, board, and books — often worth $200,000+. That's real compensation for developing skills and getting a degree. Salaries create a two-tier system where football stars get paid while volleyball players get nothing, destroying any pretense of amateurism or team unity.