Could the Athletic Department afford to pay every athlete 10 grand a year?

[KennyForAD]

UT said that 5k would cover additional expenses that players incur over other students... and the other 5k would be to compensate players for the use of their images.  lol.  They can't profit illegally from the use of players' images anymore, so they are trying to find a cheap (really, really cheap) way to keep doing it.  They aren't trying to compensate players.  They are trying to find a way to rake in more off the players.

[Fatty McGee]

More on the North Carolina issue that's currently developing:

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-tar-heels-state-academic-scandal-big-money-no-surprises/

[seikocanon]

The IRS already does this. Because I work for any portion of my research assistant stipend, all the benefits I receive from the university (OU) counts as taxable income. So while I take home a small stipend which would normally not make me a net payer on taxes, I end up paying because all of my tuition waivers get counted as taxable income. If college athletes become employees of the university they'll be in the same boat.

On top of that, as an employee of the university I'm not eligible to have fees paid for by my tuition waiver. So even after my tuition is covered, I pay around $2,000 to the university every semester while making $1,300 a month 9 months out of the year. When I was just on scholarship as an undergrad at Arkansas I paid zero out of pocket for my education.

Having the university label you as an employee rather than a scholarship recipient is about as raw a deal as you can get. But if that's what the athletes want...

Any amount in excess of tuition, fees, books, etc. is already taxable.  Most people probably don't report it.  As mentioned in this link, all payments for room and board, etc. are already considered taxable income by the IRS.

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc421.html

[DemiHOG]

UNFORTUNATLY, this will not stop, it's just a fact the people are never satisfied with what they get, 10grand,, then 15g's building up more and more, this will not stop cheating from boosters, greed always find a way, it's all about greed, Universities, ADs, coaches,, etc... won't stop until the bubble bursts. $100 weekly is plenty. hate where this is all going.