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Americans are closely divided over whether colleges should pay their athletes. But they're widely divided by age: Most age 45 and under say they should; most over 45 say they shouldn't. (The New York Times) |
NH: According to a new survey by the Marist Poll, 46% of Americans believe colleges should pay their athletes. And 49% believe they shouldn’t.
But opinions vary significantly by age, race, and gender. By age, the young are much more likely to agree than older adults: 70% of those ages 18-29 vs. 29% of those age 60+.
By race/ethnicity, minorities agree more than whites: 69% of blacks and Latinos vs. 34% of whites. And by gender, 54% of men agree vs. 39% of women.
An even larger share of Americans (74%) believe college athletes should be allowed to profit from their personal brand or N.I.L. (names, images, and likenesses). This includes benefiting from paid sponsorships and autographs.
It may seem contradictory that, by a small margin, more Americans are opposed to colleges paying athletes, but that they also support athletes making private deals by a larger margin. So what's going on? I suspect older Americans have very mixed feelings here.
They sympathize with unpaid kids performing for college teams that are raking in billions. But they remain very uncomfortable with the growing commercialization of college sports.
Did You Know?
Who’s Mad for March Madness? Just 29% of U.S. adults say they plan to watch at least some of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament this year. That’s down slightly from 2021 and continues a years-long slide.
Five years ago, 43% of respondents said that they were going to watch. The decline has been most pronounced among viewers age 45 and under. In 2017, just under half (48%) intended to watch, but that has fallen to 27% today. The share of Americans who plan to fill out a bracket has also declined.
This said, although interest in college basketball appears to be waning, those who are still watching are probably more engaged than ever thanks to the rise of sports betting.
According to the American Gaming Association, 17% of adults plan to wager an estimated $3.1B on the March Madness tournament this year, with the majority of those wagers being placed outside of brackets (76%, up from 55% in 2021).
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ABOUT NEIL HOWE
Neil Howe is a renowned authority on generations and social change in America. An acclaimed bestselling author and speaker, he is the nation's leading thinker on today's generations—who they are, what motivates them, and how they will shape America's future.
A historian, economist, and demographer, Howe is also a recognized authority on global aging, long-term fiscal policy, and migration. He is a senior associate to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., where he helps direct the CSIS Global Aging Initiative.
Howe has written over a dozen books on generations, demographic change, and fiscal policy, many of them with William Strauss. Howe and Strauss' first book, Generations is a history of America told as a sequence of generational biographies. Vice President Al Gore called it "the most stimulating book on American history that I have ever read" and sent a copy to every member of Congress. Newt Gingrich called it "an intellectual tour de force." Of their book, The Fourth Turning, The Boston Globe wrote, "If Howe and Strauss are right, they will take their place among the great American prophets."
Howe and Strauss originally coined the term "Millennial Generation" in 1991, and wrote the pioneering book on this generation, Millennials Rising. His work has been featured frequently in the media, including USA Today, CNN, the New York Times, and CBS' 60 Minutes.
Previously, with Peter G. Peterson, Howe co-authored On Borrowed Time, a pioneering call for budgetary reform and The Graying of the Great Powers with Richard Jackson.
Howe received his B.A. at U.C. Berkeley and later earned graduate degrees in economics and history from Yale University.
