Going to the Olympics and representing your home country is something every athlete dreams of. But, as we all know, Olympians don’t make an exorbitant amount of money. Premier League players and NFL running backs make hundreds of thousands more than these dedicated athletes. And with NIL changing collegiate sports, younger players are starting to realize their net worth. Are college athlete salaries going to affect who decides to continue on their Olympic journey?
College Sports Directly Influence Future Olympian Hopefuls
LSU BB @SSJreef signed a long-term deal with @GeniusNFT to launch a new collection of NFTs
This line of NFTs will not only tell Shareef’s personal story but will also tell the entire O’Neal’s family story, including their shared love of sports, family, and inspiring others pic.twitter.com/I0YHXaJJ8V
— Student Athlete NIL (@AthleteNIL) December 9, 2021
There are a myriad of concerns following the college game right now, including conference changes, the proposed Super League, player salaries, NIL, and broadcasting deals. The NCAA, and the athletes, are struggling to figure out how to treat players fairly and make money. More specifically, the finances of college athletes, like football and basketball players, will influence who goes to the Olympic games in the future.
U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee panel member, Scott Stricklin, has voiced concern regarding the available selection of athletes for Olympic games looking past Paris this year.
The USOPC are rightfully concerned.
Another concern besides the waning college athlete pool is the funding at the colleges themselves. Stanford, a huge university in terms of athletic prowess, even had to cut some sports teams. Bernard Muir, the athletic director, noted the challenges college athletes have faced in recent months.
It’s challenging…as resources have become limited. But we still feel like this place is an athlete’s village…We’re proud of the Olympic movement and we want to continue that for quite some time.
What College Athletes Will Still Go To The Olympics?
Currently, track and field college athletes make up a huge percentage of athletes at the Olympic Games. In 2020, 95% of the track Olympians participated at a college level. Similarly, more than 90% of swimmers, rowers, basketball players, volleyball players, water polo athletes, and rugby players played at their respective universities.
However, the only way for these college athletes to be able to go to the Olympics is by proper funding. Estimated player salaries will be huge, due to the NIL and social media presence in today’s world. The problem? This type of financial revenue doesn’t exist for every single college athlete.
The NCAA is going to have to find out how to pay college athletes what they deserve without paying professional-level salaries. In some cases, kids go to college to play sports and be social. In other cases, elite hopefuls go to university to play a sport and make it at a professional level. Finding a balance between college athletes who want to play for fun vs. go to the Olympics is a balancing act.