Darren HeitnerContributorSportsMoneyI cover the intersection of sports and money.This article is more than 6 years old.
There is no doubting the existence of a student debt dilemma in the United States. It is estimated that the average 2013 graduate who took out student loans has a burden of roughly $31,000 to pay back before being absolved from such debt. Add $2,000 to that figure for the estimate related to 2014 graduates. It is a crisis confronting students across the board, including college athletes who may not be as fortunate as some of their colleagues on the court or field of play.
Some college athletes receive partial or full scholarships to participate in college athletics. Non-scholarship athletes are largely in the same boat as students who are not fortunate enough to obtain need-based relief or a scholarship based on merit. They may leave school saddled in debt and, with professional sports likely not a real option, be forced to find jobs that will not only allow them to survive, but also pay off the interest on their loans.
Even those athletes who do receive some form of scholarship often find the need to obtain additional funds.
“People often assume that athletic scholarships allow student-athletes come out of college debt-free,” said Greg Shanfeld, a founding shareholder of law firm Wadhwani & Shanfeld. Shanfeld, who has assisted many former college athletes dealing with student loan debt added, “not all athletes are fortunate enough to receive scholarships. A full-ride typically covers only the costs of tuition and fees, often times the athletes will take out student loans to cover housing and other living expenses. Many student-athletes are of low socioeconomic status and have to take out large loans to pay for living expenses during college.”
Brad Jones played football at the University of Cincinnati and graduated from the institution in 2009. Even though Jones was on a full scholarship, he still felt the need to borrow $3,500 during his experience as a college athlete. Fortunately for Jones, he has already repaid his loan. He is also fortunate that he only had to take out money to cover the difference in his full scholarship and the true cost of attendance. Others who are not as fortunate to receive a “full ride,” often must take on more debt to be able to perform for the universities they choose to attend.