University logos cover a wall in the lobby of NCAA headquarters Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, in Indianapolis. Ncaa National Collegiate Athletics Association Office Headquarters In Indianapolis Feb 25 2021 Jenna Watson/IndyStar via Imagn Content Services, LLC

UNLV Opts In To House v. NCAA Settlement, Will Begin Paying Student-Athletes

Originally posted on UNLV Rebels on SI
By Mark Morales-Smith | Last updated Jun 10, 2025 12:57 PM ET

The UNLV Rebels athletic department has officially opted in to the terms of the House vs. NCAA settlement. Up until this point, student-athletes had only been allowed to earn money based on their name, image and likeness, however, payments were not allowed to come directly from the school. That is no longer the case after this settlement amended that technicality for participating programs, which now includes UNLV who has now agreed to directly pay their athletes. The new settlement also allows for an expansion of scholarship limits and a cap on rosters.

UNLV Athletics just made history.

Following the House v. NCAA settlement and the passage of Nevada SB 293, UNLV will now directly compensate its student-athletes, joining the first wave of universities to implement revenue sharing in college sports.

In Las Vegas, this shift…
— Mike Cooper (@CooperMikeLV) June 10, 2025

All schools that do decide to opt in will become responsible for a share of the $2.8 billion in back pay to former student-athletes. The schools will be permitted to start paying student-athletes at the start of the upcoming academic year. The spending cap for any single athletic department is $20.5 million.

A federal judge approved the settlement agreement on Friday. This will be a big shift for UNLV who will now look to install a system to handle this new turn of events. Due to some financial concerns, UNLV is not expected to approach the $20.5 million cap ceiling.

UNLV released a statement on Monday saying:

“The class action settlement marks a historic shift in college athletics. For the first time, UNLV will implement a revenue-sharing model that allows for direct compensation of our student athletes... This groundbreaking initiative underscores our commitment to prioritizing student-athletes and enhancing their experience both academically and athletically. UNLV athletics has prepared for this transformative era, and we look forward to the positive impact it will have... Thank you to our community for its continued support as we embrace this significant change together... Both UNLV and the University of Nevada need to be able to compete in that arena, which would be allowing us to be able to pay our student-athletes with revenue generated by our departments."