NCAA, college sports conferences reach $2.8B settlement over back, future pay for student-athletes

The NCAA and the country's five largest college sports conferences have reached a nearly $2.8 billion settlement that appears to be a major next step toward paying student-athletes like professional one. 

The plan was agreed upon late Thursday but still needs approval from plaintiffs and a federal judge. It calls for the establishment of an unprecedented revenue-sharing system for college athletes that will impact hundreds of schools across U.S. by as early as fall 2025.

The plan also calls for paying damages to thousands of former and current college athletes who say now-defunct NCAA rules prevented them from earning endorsement money, according to the Associated Press.