Head coach Dusty May and players of the Michigan Wolverines celebrate after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 16, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Aaron J. Thornton | Getty Images
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.
PayPal’s mobile payment service Venmo is also expanding its position in college sports.
Venmo will be the presenting partner for the first-ever Big Ten Rivalry Series and will serve as the official partner of the Big 12 Conference. The company is also working with Big Ten and Big 12 schools to allow students to use Venmo at college bookstores and for campus athletics for items such as tickets, concessions and merchandise.
The Big Ten Conference expanded to 18 schools last August includes the University of Maryland, Penn State University, University of Michigan and the Ohio State University. The Big 12 Conference includes 16 schools such as Arizona State University, the University of Central Florida and the University of Houston.
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