College sports entered a new era Friday as a federal judge approved a landmark settlement allowing schools to directly pay their athletes — a seismic shift that dismantles the NCAA’s long-held model of amateurism and ushers in revenue sharing across Division I athletics.

Judge Claudia Wilken of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted the final approval to the litigation, allowing schools to distribute up to 22 percent of the average revenue from media rights, ticket sales and sponsorships among schools in the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC — with a cap estimated at $20.5 million per school in the 2025-26 academic year.

“We look forward to implementing this historic settlement designed to bring stability, integrity and competitive balance to college athletics while increasing both scholarship and revenue opportunities for student-athletes in all sports,” Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said in a statement.

Student-athletes can still earn money from third-party NIL deals, but they must serve a “valid business purpose” and offer reasonable compensation, according to a Big Ten news release.

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To ensure compliance, athletes must report their NIL agreements through a new platform called NIL Go, developed by Deloitte for the College Sports Commission. All third-party NIL deals worth $600 or more must be approved by the clearinghouse, according to On3.

Additionally, schools can now offer scholarships to every athlete on a roster — within newly established roster limits — expanding opportunities, especially in non-revenue sports.

The change comes as Maryland prepares to transition to new athletic director Jim Smith in July. He’ll inherit a department lost $32.7 million over a five year span, according to 2024 data, and lags near the bottom of the Big Ten in football revenue.

“We’re going to focus on revenue,” Smith said at his introductory press conference. “Make no mistake about it, to compete with the caliber of schools — not just in the Big Ten but across the country — we must increase our revenues.”

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University of Maryland president Darryll Pines noted that revenue generation was a major focus in the search process for Smith’s hiring. Though not a conventional candidate, Smith’s background prepares him well for the task of increasing revenue generation with the House settlement.

He previously led marketing and revenue operations for the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United, and most recently worked as the senior vice president of business strategy for the Atlanta Braves. With the Falcons, he helped transform one of the NFL’s lowest-earning franchises into a more competitive business.

“There’s no silver bullet from going toward the bottom of the Big Ten to the top of the Big Ten [in] revenue,” Smith said. “But there’s a lot of opportunity here, and I am really excited to explore the opportunity.”