A US District Judge settled the House vs NCAA settlement to allow college athletes to paid directly from schools and effectively end the era of college sports as amateur

College athletes are set to receive money directly from schools in a momentous change to the collegiate revenue model.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ended three separate antitrust lawsuits on Thursday — including the House vs NCAA — as colleges will back-pay athletes $2.8 billion for those who competed from 2016 to 2025.

Starting on July 1, a tentative model will exist where schools can pay athletes up to $20.5 million a year starting in 2025-26—this is expected to increase by a certain percentage year over year.

Effectively, college sports will no longer be treated as amateur. Athletes will be compensated more than through the previous NIL program started in 2021; they will be compensated directly by universities.

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NCAA President Charlie Baker penned a later shortly after the news chronicling his reaction. “We can now turn toward what most agree is our primary function: providing a world-class academic and athletics experience,” he explained.

“With these changes in place, including release from future litigation on these subjects for the next decade, the foundation of college sports is stronger than at any point in years.”

“The NCAA can increase focus on reforming clunky governance structures and, most importantly, prioritizing fair competition, academics and student-athlete well-being.”

Wilken’s ruling put an end to three ongoing rulings: Carter v. NCAA, House v. NCAA and Hubbard v. NCAA. The House vs NCAA lawsuit was originally made in 2020 by a pair of Arizona State college athletes: women’s college basketball player Sedona Prince and men’s swimmer Grant House.

Prince, 25, just completed her NCAA career with TCU after transferring ahead of the 2024-25 season. She was a First-team Big 12 member in 2025 and will be eligible for backpay by the NCAA.

With the Horned Frogs, Prince teamed up with current Chicago Sky rookie Hailey van Lith and reached the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.

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Baker also added that there’s more work to be done.

“Significant challenges remain, including attempts to force student-athletes to be classified as employees despite their leadership at all levels opposing this,” he stated.

“In addition, attacks persist on college sports’ ability to set national rules regarding years of eligibility — the policies that enable the next generation of young people to access educational and athletic opportunities.

“And states continue to undercut one another in a race to the bottom by challenging the ability of the NCAA and conferences to establish and enforce rules that maintain level playing fields. “

Big changes are coming to college sports. A judge has approved the NCAA’s “House settlement,” allowing schools to start paying athletes directly for the first time.

Starting July 1st, schools can share up to $20.5 million a year with players, mainly in football and men’s basketball. That number could grow each year.

The NCAA and power conferences (SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC) also agreed to pay nearly $2.8 billion to athletes who played between 2016 and 2024 for past lost earnings from name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities.

To make sure the money is handled fairly, a new group called the College Sports Commission will oversee all payments and rules. It’s separate from the NCAA and will enforce new limits, like a salary cap and roster sizes.

This means that any new agreement between an athlete and a third party — such as a business, brand, booster, or collective — must be reviewed and approved by the Deloitte-managed NIL clearinghouse.

Known as “NIL Go,” this clearinghouse will evaluate all NIL deals worth over $600 to ensure they meet fair market value standards. Deals that don’t meet these standards may be rejected, and athletes who accept unapproved offers could risk losing their eligibility.

This marks a major shift from the past when athletes were not paid directly and NIL rules were loosely enforced.

Lawmakers are now working on a federal law to protect the NCAA and schools from future lawsuits as a result of the settlement.

A new era of college sports is finally here.

• The House vs. NCAA settlement allows schools to share revenue with athletes and provides damages for past NIL inequities.
• Alabama athletics will operate under a salary cap, starting at over $20 million annually, with most going to football and men’s basketball.
• Athletes can still pursue NIL deals, but a new commission will increase oversight and enforcement.
• Roster limits will be implemented, but current athletes won’t be immediately affected.

Change has officially come for collegiate athletics.

The post NCAA football news: Gamers can help their team earn NIL money on College Football 26 appeared first on ClutchPoints.

Already, EA Sports College Football 26 is generating plenty of buzz a month before release. Speculation about Bill Belichick’s appearance is certainly palpable.

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In addition, players will be paid $ 1,500 for appearing in the game, an increase from $600 in the previous year’s game. Those same players could receive NIL money thanks to the gamers themselves, per Darren Rovell of CLLCT media.

Schools featured in the game could get paid based on how frequently gamers play with their team—a radically innovative approach in the era of NIL for college athletes.

Athletes will be able to showcase their talents broadly through the game. The players’ exposure could land them sponsorship deals as well as grow their fan bases.

Furthermore, the players will have their name, image, and likeness on full display throughout the game. Before the NIL era, gamers would solely have to come up with names for players.

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The players also have the option to opt in or opt out of this deal, allowing them to maintain control over how they utilize their NIL. From a gaming perspective, this sparks a significant shift from the way things were prior to NIL.

The evolution of gaming and NIL 

Before the NIL era, college athletes were barred from earning money from their name, image, and likeness. That included appearances on EA Sports games.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was the historic O’Bannon vs. NCAA case. In 2009, former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon filed a lawsuit against the NCAA

He claimed its amateurism rules illegally prevented college athletes from being compensated for their name, image, and likeness.  This derived after seeing his image featured on EA Sports’ NCAA Basketball 09 without his consent, nor did he receive any compensation.

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The outcome resulted in schools being allowed to offer athletic scholarships covering full cost of attendance. In addition, the case ruled that schools could place up to $5,000 into a trust for each athlete to use their NIL.

Thus paving the way for where we are now regarding video games.

Related: Former MLB exec to be new head of College Sports Commission

Related: Judge approves NCAA House Settlement allowing schools to pay players

The revenue-sharing era of college sports has finally arrived. How will Louisville and Kentucky respond?

About five years after its filing, the seminal House v. NCAA lawsuit has reached a resolution. Its settlement received final approval from Judge Claudia Wilken Friday.