Chait: Don't Pay College Athletes!

As commentators mull the recent scandals at Penn State and Syracuse, many have called for dramatic reforms to college athletics. Among the most fashionable proposals? Start paying college athletes. New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait uses his trademark economic wonkery to debunk this idea. One particularly dumb argument is the notion that college football players are unfairly used and disposed of at very little cost as the university rakes in the profits. But in reality, that money usually goes toward funding unprofitable programs. “To the extent that there is ‘profit’ in this arrangement, the man in the top hat and monocle who’s siphoning it off is … the gymnastics squad.”