The NCAA and wealthy college athletic conferences have reached a $2.8 billion settlement in a class-action antitrust lawsuit, allowing schools to pay college athletes directly for the first time. If approved, the agreement could mark the end of the amateur model of college athletics. The settlement also calls for retroactive payment to football and men's basketball players for television and marketing rights, but it sidesteps addressing Title IX. The NCAA plans to use the agreement to seek protection from further antitrust suits and employee status claims. The agreement also grants greater autonomy to the athletic conferences involved. However, smaller conferences are upset about being required to pay a significant portion of the damages. The settlement could widen the financial gap between the richest schools and the rest, potentially impacting Olympic sports. About 90% of the settlement payouts would go to football and men's basketball players in the big-money conferences, with concerns raised about the impact on female athletes. The agreement could face scrutiny from a competing antitrust case and may be subject to changes before final approval.