To play college sports, you have to be an amateur.     Amateurs can't get paid for playing.

The Olympics used to be that way, but other countries started cheating, so we joined in.

Yes.. and the concept is that some STUDENTS at a university play on a football team.. like in high school.
That is a farce.  College football players are at those universities to play football.  Same for basketball and baseball.

What blows my mind is how a college football coach is paid $75,000,000 over 10 years.  A more appropriate salary would be $750,000 over 10 years.     ($7.5 million per year vs $75 thousand a year).  
I won't mention my academic prowess because nobody would believe me anyway.. suffice it to say that I never got a salary even as good as a stinking cop gets.. and all a cop needs is a high school diploma or GED.

Hopefully a pot of gold is in my future though.. we shall see.

Take a look at what the military pays..
Why are police paid so much more than the military?
https://www.goarmy.com/benefits/money/basic-pay-active-duty-soldiers.html

The Olympics used to be that way, but other countries started cheating, so we joined in.