NCAA, leagues agree to pay nearly $2.8B US settlement, paving way for seismic shift across college sports

The NCAA and the nation's five biggest conferences announced Thursday night that they have agreed to pay nearly $2.8 billion US to settle a host of antitrust claims, a monumental decision that sets the stage for a groundbreaking revenue-sharing model that could start directing millions of dollars directly to athletes as soon as the 2025 fall semester.

NCAA President Charlie Baker along with the commissioners of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference released a joint statement saying they had agreed to settlement terms. They called the move "an important step in the continuing reform of college sports that will provide benefits to student-athletes and provide clarity in college athletics across all divisions for years to come."

The deal still must be approved by the federal judge overseeing the case and challenges could arise, but if the agreement stands it will mark the beginning of a new era in college sports where athletes are compensated more like professionals and schools can compete for talent using direct payments.

"There's no question about it. It's a huge quantum leap," said Tom McMillen, the former Maryland basketball player and congressman who has led an association of collegiate athletic directors the past eight years.

NCAA &amp; Autonomy Conferences Statement on House Settlement: <a href="https://t.co/LPMRo80zyH">https://t.co/LPMRo80zyH</a> <a href="https://t.co/FStHhEYmeZ">pic.twitter.com/FStHhEYmeZ</a>

Terms were not disclosed, though some details have emerged in the past few weeks. They signal the end of the NCAA's bedrock amateurism model that dates to its founding in 1906. Indeed, the days of NCAA punishment for athletes driving booster-provided cars started