The revenue-sharing payments of athletes are historic, and as conferences navigate the future, they are turning to fintech companies like PayPal and Venmo (which are actually owned by the same company). The Big Ten commissioner, Tony Petitti, announced that the conference will be using Venmo as the method for paying its athletes through the new approved revenue-sharing model. This is historic in several ways.
Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti has announced that the league is partnering with @Venmo as the method for distributing revenue-sharing payments to athletes.
— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) July 22, 2025
The Big Ten and the Big 12 will be turning to PayPal to pay their student-athletes
It wasn't long ago that paying athletes was forbidden and penalized.