Robert Morris University in Illinois recently became the first varsity eSports squad to offer video game program with Associate Athletic Director Kurt Melcher in charge of the curriculum. According to “Forbes,”  “a second college has followed suit, the University of Pikeville in Kentucky, a small liberal arts school which will offer a similar program.”

When The Lion’s Roar staff first heard about these scholarships becoming available, a majority of staff were on the side that it is absurd. But, I am in favor and not because I am a hardcore gamer. With being in graduate school, the last time I played a video game was in May 2015 when I was trying to de-stress from finals.

One of the main reasons for this is because our athletic program, as of now, will not be having any budget cuts even though a budget crisis is underway. Some of these athletes may further their careers professionally and make more money than a doctor will; all because athletic scholarships were offered to them, allowing them to attend the university. 

According to “Business Insider,” salaries of doctors will vary on region and location. But on average, pediatrics average 189,000 dollars and orthopedics average 421,000 dollars.

This may seem like a large sum of money, especially if you are a broke college student like myself, but compared to some of the highest paid athletes, it’s chump change. 

According to “CBS Sports,” “Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the NFL’s highest-paid player at 22 million dollars per year by average yearly salary. He isn’t close to being the highest-paid NFL player in 2015 with an 11.6-million-dollar salary before taxes, because his contract, which was signed in 2013, contained a 35 million dollar signing bonus.”

I don’t know much about Aaron Rodgers, but many of our student athletes are given scholarships that basically make college as affordable as possible, especially if their room and board is paid for. 

I am not knocking athletics and their scholarships. I believe we need sports to help the economy and the overall emotional state of some university students as well as the alumni. I mean, America does love football. According to “statista,” a site which has compiled the Super Bowl viewership since 1990, 111.9 million people watched the Super Bowl this year alone. 

All these statistics being said, if a student athlete has the right to gain scholarships in order to attend a university that may lead them to a professional career that will not only lead them to the possibility of making more money than a doctor as well as the President of the United States, who according to “Visual Economics” only makes 400,000 dollars a year, why shouldn’t a university offer scholarships for gamers to be admitted into a gaming eSports squad? 

I mean, there is a League of Legends world tournament where the winner makes two million dollars. That is not nearly as much as the highest paid NFL players, but it is still a huge chunk of change. 

I am all in favor of having scholarships for gamers who seek to make a future in the field of gaming. Why shouldn’t what people enjoy to do in life stop them from following their passion into not only college, but pave the path for their future as well?