Yes, college athletes need to be paid, because most college athletes aren't actually students. They are accepted to the school only for their athletic ability, slipped through classes via useless majors and/or rigged grading, and only exist to make money for the school.

The only argument used against paying college athletes is, "But that would make them pro."

But they already are pro.

The education they get is useless, because most of these guys are not college types and likely couldn't hack any kind of career connected with the degree they receive.

Once schools substantially started lowering their admissions standards in order to get the best athletes playing for them, the argument of "B-b-b-but these guys are students, not pro athletes!" goes out the window.

The fact that college athletics brings in so much money makes this situation even more obnoxious.

Time to drop this whole sham of believing the NCAA is a collection of college students playing one another, and accept the fact that these are pro athletes on the way to top-level professional sports, temporarily representing a school.

Pay the men their mahney.