A federal judge on Friday signed off on the $2.8 billion settlement between college athletes and the NCAA, clearing the way for schools to begin paying their athletes.

A federal judge signed off on arguably the biggest change in the history of college sports on Friday, clearing the way for schools to begin paying their athletes millions of dollars as soon as next month as the multibillion-dollar industry shreds the last vestiges of the amateur model that defined it for more than a century.

For the first time in history, Division I schools are now free to pay their athletes directly, marking the dawn of a new era in college sports.