In my eyes, college football boosters and athletics directors run their programs like sweatshops—they exploit young men and women. The very athletes who earn millions upon millions of dollars for these boosters and programs aren’t compensated for their work.

As voices of many former players and analysts, most notably ESPN’s Jay Bilas ring louder and louder, it seems as though paying college players isn’t just speculation: it looks inevitable.

The old-school view is that the athletes get scholarships that can be worth over $240,000, which is enough compensation.

But this isn’t money that the student-athletes can use to support their families, deposit into a bank account, or pocket.

Though the NCAA refers to the players as “student-athletes,” this term is outdated. The players are no longer students first. College sports are riddled with academic fraud and scandal, and a majority of top-tier athletes compromise their education because of the intense, year-round time commitment they have for their sport. Most high-major college football and basketball players aren’t committing to a school on national signing day. They’re committing to an athletics program.

These athletes provide a valuable service to their athletics departments. This service allows schools to sign lucrative sponsorship deals and to bring in as much as $30 million in some cases. Yet these people don’t keep any of the money they earn.

Creating a system where college athletes would be paid could be complicated, but definitely possible. Because there are conflicting viewpoints within the NCAA regarding a pay-for-play system, the organization should gather a panel of former players, ADs and boosters and vote to choose a method to do it.

At the very minimum, athletes should be able to market themselves. If Johnny Manziel wants to go sign autographs for money, let him. College sports are really the only field where a person is not allowed to truly earn what they can on a free market. Think about it: Any other college student is allowed to earn what he or she can for doing a job. Though most pro sports also have a fixed ceiling on what players can make because of salary caps, this cap is close to $96 million for a five-year contract, not nothing.

It’s time for a system where athletes sign contracts with schools. Let the athletes make whatever they are truly worth on an open market. If all they can negotiate is an academic scholarship, so be it.

It’s simple and it’s right: pay the players what they’re worth.