The House v. NCAA settlement is paving the way for athletes to maximize their brands on and off the field by allowing schools to pay them directly starting July 1.

“It’s the largest, most significant change in college sports business that we’ve ever seen,” said , a corporate attorney and sports law advisor with Amundsen Davis Law Firm.

The multi-billion-dollar settlement includes the NCAA paying nearly $2.8 billion in back pay to former athletes who played in 2016 through present day and giving schools the ability to pay current athletes a limited amount. The annual cap is expected to start at $2.5 million per school with yearly increases. The deal currently lasts for 10 years. Schools can also get directly involved with NIL deals with student athletes.

“One of the things I think is important about this ruling is that it does bring some certainty and a level of certainty to the college sports industry that has really been in a tumultuous kind of time, the wild, wild, West period. This finally brings at least some level of understanding that we’re all moving in the same direction,” said Fedlam.

The NIL expert said the “most significant” sticking point in the judge’s analysis of approving the settlement was roster management. Roster limits go into effect, trimming scholarships for football down to 105 with no walk-on spots. However, student-athletes recruited in the 2025-2026 academic year who lost an opportunity because of roster limits or current athletes facing the same challenge will be viewed as “Designated Student Athletes.”

“Throughout their period of eligibility, they will be able to always be on a roster without affecting the number or the limitation on those roster limits,” said Fedlam.

With the settlement comes the launch of the College Sports Commission, an independent third party, created to enforce NIL rules and regulations. The Commission will oversee Deloitte’s “NIL Go,” a platform used to assess fair market value regarding NIL deals over $600 and monitor whether the deals should be challenged.

The settlement is with the Power Five schools; however, Fedlam noted that other schools can opt into the revenue-sharing model.

“Everything that I’ve heard over the last really 72 hours or so has really been, people are excited that it actually is finally approved,” said Fedlam.

The settlement aims to streamline how NIL is handled. In response, Ohio State launched a unified NIL management team called the Athletes are not considered employees of the school.

“That is something that was not dealt with in this settlement and something that is going through the court process now, but student athletes are currently not employees,” said Fedlam.

While the landmark settlement sparks a new era in college sports, Fedlam believes Congressional action will be taken in the near future.