Mark the date: June 6, 2025. That’s the night college sports officially crossed the line into a new world. Judge Claudia Wilken approved the long-awaited House v. NCAA settlement, which will now allow universities to directly pay athletes a portion of the billions in revenue they help generate. And while the headlines are buzzing about backpay and revenue sharing, the big news is that high school players can now also earn a lot of money.RJ Young captured it best when he opened his show Adapt & Response on June 6th: “This is the night college sports changed forever.” And he’s not wrong. For the first time, college athletes will earn direct payments from their schools, starting July 1, with a model that looks more and more like the pros.Under the new plan, schools can offer up to $20.5 million annually to athletes—money that can now also be used to recruit high school players. That’s a game-changer. Schools can now openly go all-in on their top prospects, reshaping the recruiting landscape overnight.The new 10-year model came from the consolidation of three antitrust lawsuits: House, Carter, and Hubbard v. NCAA. The first one was originally filed in 2020, demanding compensation for players barred from NIL earnings. Now, alongside the future revenue model, schools and the NCAA have also agreed to pay $2.8 billion in damages to athletes who competed between 2016 and 2024. Most of that backpay is going to Power Five football and men’s basketball players—those who’ve driven the lion’s share of college sports’ commercial success.And RJ Young didn’t hold back as he broke it all down further: “We’ve seen million-dollar deals across the board for quarterbacks at the Power Four level… We are going to continue to see that number go up. What remains to be well worked out is just who’s getting the bulk of this money after the quarterback. Is it going to be offensive line? Is it going to be wide receivers? I think it’s going to be case by case basis.”Young added a real-world example to drive home what’s coming: “You’re going to pay Jeremiah Smith (WR) when you’re going to pay Julian Sayin (QB) at Ohio State. It’s just how it’s going to work. Going to pay Arch Manning (QB)? When are you going to pay Ryan Wingo (WR) at Texas? It’s just how it’s going to work.” If you’re a five-star in high school, your payday might start before you even take a college snap.The money isn’t just pouring into players’ pockets without oversight, though…With Wilken’s green light, a new enforcement body called the College Sports Commission (CSC) has been formed—run by the Power Five conferences and third-party consultants like Deloitte and LBI. This group will operate “NIL Go,” a clearinghouse that reviews all NIL deals over $600 to ensure they match fair market value. The goal? Cut down on shady booster payments and front-loaded contracts that warp the recruiting field. It also means deals signed before July 1 won’t fall under these rules.Young also made another point that hits home for high school athletes: “This is also going to make the stakes rise even more for high school sports and youth sports because now there’s real money at the end of being 17, not at the end of being 22. You can start making loot right away if you are that kind of an athlete.” For elite recruits, the gold rush starts in high school now—not college.What’s next after House v. NCAA: roster caps, legal loopholes, and state battles heat upThe NCAA isn’t just throwing open the vaults without making some trade-offs. One of the most controversial aspects of the settlement is the new roster limits. Football teams, for instance, must shrink to 105 players. That sounds fine until you realize some schools carry 125+ players during the fall. The result? Nearly 5,000 athletes across all NCAA sports could be cut if schools enforce the caps immediately.Judge Wilken initially raised red flags about this during the settlement review in April. Attorneys later agreed to let schools “grandfather in” current athletes—meaning they won’t count toward the cap until they run out of eligibility. If those athletes transfer, they still won’t count at the new school either. It’s a smart compromise to prevent chaos, but not every school will take the option. Some already slashed entire non-revenue teams in anticipation of these changes.And let’s not forget, not every Division I school will hop on the payout train right away. But the heavyweights are already in motion. Georgia, for example, is budgeting $13.5 million for football, $2.7 million for men’s hoops, and $900K each for women’s basketball and other sports. Another $2.5 million is going toward new scholarships.The long-term future also includes a step-by-step rise in the roster cap over the next decade. Meanwhile, Deloitte’s clearinghouse will monitor NIL deals to ensure compliance. But critics warn this oversight could spark new lawsuits, especially if players or sponsors feel their deals are being unfairly blocked. In other words, the legal fight is far from over.And state laws are starting to pile on the pressure, too. On June 5, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 126—another major shift. The law allows Texas schools to offer NIL deals directly to high school players. The recruiting game is now a bidding war—and Texas just armed its schools with more ammo.Texas State Rep. Brandon Creighton filed the bill back in March, and once both the state House and Senate approved it on June 1, it was only a matter of time before Abbott made it law. The timing is key—Texas has no state income tax. Compare that to California’s 13.3% top rate, and you see why someone like Arch Manning or Ryan Wingo might stick with Steve Sarkisian instead of jumping ship. Tax codes now matter almost as much as playbooks.And for coaches like Sarkisian and Joey McGuire, who already lean heavily on their connections with Texas high school programs, this law is gold. They can now pitch not just development or game time—but real, legal money—right out of high school. The post House v. NCAA Settlement May Be a Jackpot for High School Football Stars as New Rules Open Direct Payment for D1 Athletes appeared first on EssentiallySports.