U.S. colleges began paying student athletes direct compensation, apart from scholarships, starting in July 2025. That development followed several years of seismic changes in the financial landscape of collegiate sports. In 2021 the NCAA began allowing athletes to be paid for their names, images, and likenesses by appearing in various product endorsements or other sponsored content and event opportunities. In May 2024 the final obstacle to the direct compensation of student-athletes crumbled when the NCAA and the country’s five biggest sports conferences agreed to settle several antitrust lawsuits by agreeing to pay current and former athletes more than $2.7 billion. The agreement was approved by a U.S. district court judge in June 2025. In addition to the settlement money for athletes, the deal established an annual cap on how much colleges may pay athletes.
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