Hey Ethan,
I really like the idea for your argumentative research paper. It is a subject that has seen a lot of controversy in recent sports news and I believe that they might as well pay athletes if they are already receiving such perks of free tuition, housing, etc. It is sad having to watch student athletes with so much potential have to go to the league early instead of developing in college because they have to support their family or have other circumstances that will hinder their performance at the next level. All in all, you have a very intriguing article and I found an article that you may enjoy. It talks about the various pros and cons that paying college atheletes can bring.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/college-athletes-getting-paid-here-are-some-pros-cons_us_58cfcee0e4b07112b6472f9a

Ethan this is a great post about a very controversial issue. I truly have no idea how this can be fixed but while reading your post I was reminded of the movie Blind Side and how the football player and his family nearly got in trouble because he chose to go to the school they wanted him to. This brings up the issue as with Nicita where families with excess money will take in or support skilled players to attend their schools. At the base level I see nothing wrong with this but if this were to become a more commonly used there could be some issues. Im not opposed to college players getting paid but if this happens they might have to pay all college sports which could then cause more problems. This website may help with your research. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2017/10/02/want-to-clean-up-college-athletics-pay-the-players/?utm_term=.d6814f4531a5

Ethan,
I really enjoy reading about your topic, because today in the sports worlds it is such a big deal. I believe the NCAA is one of the most corrupt industry and it is a tragedy that individual players can not make money off their likeness. I think college sports have actually lost in the fact that instead of staying in the NCAA they jump to the pros to make money. I think if they were able to pay players the NCAA fan base would increase. I really makes me think what goes on behind the scenes and how players get paid against the rules for example Deandre Ayton and the University of Arizona. I recently watched a documentary on Lebron James and the publicity and money/material he got was crazy. We had never seen such a phenomenon like Lebron, but today we understand what goes on and I think there is time for change.

https://nypost.com/2018/02/23/fbi-catches-arizona-coach-discussing-100k-payment-to-sign-recruit/

Ethan,
As we see your topic come up with the FBI, I am very interested to read your opinion. The illegal money in the game right now is crazy and it is all due to a fundamental difference in what we consider these players to be, are they students or are they athletes. Nobody is able to do something 50-50 successfully so they are one or the other. If they are students then they should be able to be paid if they are doing work for the university (playing football) If they are athletes then the next level should be able to hire them whenever they want to (even after the freshman year of high school) because that’s how businesses work. These are not students and should be treated like employees.