Check out these numbers…

$53.4 million: Combined salaries of the 15 highest-paid college football coaches.

$0: Combined salaries of 450,000 Division I college athletes.

Is there a problem with this?

If you follow college football, chances are you’ve heard of Johnny Manziel, the sophomore star quarterback for Texas A&M. He’s slowly becoming a household name at the young age of 20, but despite the rising fame, Johnny Manziel has yet to make a dollar playing football…apparently.

The debate over paying student athletes was restarted when Manziel was under investigation for accepting payments for signing autographs. In an unclear verdict, Manziel was given a half-game suspension, and the allegations were dropped.

Since Texas A&M earned $120M from the football team in 2012 ( yes, you read that right…$120 MILLION) and received $37M in free media exposure, many people are questioning the ethics of not paying athletes. Some are even going to the extremes of calling it indentured servitude.

Texas coach Mack Brown states,

“I do think players need to be paid. These players are killing themselves, and at Texas last year, we made $163 million.”

On the other hand, Brit Kirwan, chancellor at University of Maryland system, says

“The huge TV contracts and excessive commercialization have corrupted intercollegiate athletics. To some extent they have compromised the integrity of the universities.”

Manziel jerseys have sold for $60 and someone even paid $20,000 for dinner with him, but poor Johnny will see none of that money. Granted, Manziel is attending school for free with the best facilities and resources available.

Are scholarships enough compensation for the athletes? Or should the NCAA, National Collegiate Athletic Association, start allowing stipends for athletes who help bring in money for the school?