The immediate takeaway from the landmark $2.8 billion settlement that the N.C.A.A. and the major athletic conferences accepted on Thursday was that it cut straight at the heart of the organization’s cherished model of amateurism: Schools can now pay their athletes directly. But another bedrock principle remains intact, and maintaining it is likely to be a priority for the N.C.A.A. : that players who are paid by the universities are not employed by them, and therefore do not have the right to collectively bargain. That stance came under greater legal and political scrutiny in recent years, leading to the settlement, which still requires approval by a judge.

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Persons: ” John I, Jenkins Organizations: University of Notre Dame