Global payment company PayPal announced on Thursday that it has inked a deal with the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences to allow student-athletes to receive compensation through the fintech company’s platform.
The announcement comes just weeks after a court settlement in the House v. NCAA case, which dramatically shifts the college sports landscape by allowing schools to compensate student-athletes for the first time. The settlement allows individual schools to distribute up to $20.5 million to current athletes over the next year, and provides up to $2.8 billion in compensation to former players across the NCAA.
The new agreement will allow Big Ten and Big 12 athletic departments to dispense these payments using PayPal exclusively.
PayPal said the initial rollout is expected to begin this summer. The House settlement takes effect on July 1.
The deal will allow students at Big Ten and Big 12 universities to receive their compensation quickly and securely, PayPal said. The company added students will also have the option to pay their college tuition via PayPal, which will become a preferred payment partner at select schools.
“We’re proud to help lead this transformation in college athletics by making it easier and faster for student-athletes to get paid and continue to bring trusted and innovative commerce solutions to the heart of campus life,” PayPal President and CEO Alex Chriss said in a statement.