About thirty college football programs make money. I'll guess there's more in basketball since the cost of running the program are lower. If athletes were paid there would be a super football conference of thirty teams. They would be hording all the best talent because they could pay them. The remaining D1 football programs would become as relevant as mid majors. Non revenue generating sports would be at a huge risk of being dropped. Where do you think the money to pay football and basketball players will come from. Any sport, like baseball that extends past the end of the school year (which generates more expense) would be at the top of the target list to be dropped.
Do the athletes deserve more than the situation they're in? Yes. Do they deserve salaries? No. If you think about it the idea of letting academically inept people into a college because they can play a sport is absurd. College is for education. Sports were a side bar attraction that became a major business. Look what those guys at Rutgers caused when they told some Princeton guys in a bar they could beat them in football. Cable tv came along and really corrupted the picture with money. It's why I worry about high school sports as more sports cable channels are created and looking for content.