A federal judge’s recent approval of the House settlement allows universities to directly pay student-athletes for the first time. In a sign of the times, the Big 12 and Big Ten conferences announced multi-year agreements with PayPal to facilitate payments to student-athletes.

The Big 12's agreement is worth nearly $100 million over five years and was born in 2024 after PayPal entered into discussions to buy naming rights for the conference, sources told CBS Sports. The Big 12 opted not to pursue selling its naming rights, but this partnership was the result.

A new partnership between the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences and PayPal will allow student-athletes to receive their compensation via the fintech company.