The U.S. Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act 77-22 on Monday, Sept. 28, sending a bill that would reshape athlete compensation and transfer rules to the House of Representatives.

The legislation, if signed into law, would more than double the amount schools can pay athletes more than double the amount schools can pay athletes directly. The current cap of roughly $21 million per school would rise to roughly $49 million, with $5 million reserved for non-revenue and Olympic sports, ESPN reported.

For OU and its athletes, the changes would be sweeping. Athletes would be limited to one penalty-free transfer during their college careers, with exceptions for coaching changes, a discontinued sport, or misconduct. A five-year eligibility window would begin when an athlete finishes high school or turns 19.

The bill also caps Power 4 conference membership at 20 schools. The Big 12 currently has 16. Any school switching Power 4 conferences would face a three-year waiting period without conference affiliation, a provision set to expire at the end of 2031.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) authored the legislation. Cruz told reporters after the vote that the bipartisan margin was intentional.

"From the beginning, our objective was not to squeak by with 60 or 61 votes, but to have a big bipartisan vote that demonstrates the importance of stepping in and saving and preserving college sports," Cruz said, according to Gaylord News, a reporting project of OU's Gaylord College of Journalism.

President Donald Trump called the passage "a really big deal" on Truth Social, according to ABC 7.

The legislation would also grant the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption to enforce compensation caps and other rules weakened by legal challenges. It would bar football coaches from leaving for another school mid-season.

Not everyone supports the bill.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who played football at Stanford, said during Senate debate that the bill "sells out college athletes." The Congressional Black Caucus, the NAACP and the AFL-CIO have also opposed the measure, arguing it protects universities and the NCAA without sufficient safeguards for athletes' rights.

The Senate rejected an amendment that would have capped coach salaries at $5 million per year, voting 52-47 against it. Another amendment to increase a major-injury medical care fund for former athletes from $100 million to $200 million fell one vote short.

The bill now faces an uncertain path in the House. The chamber is out of session and not scheduled to return until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. No vote on the bill has been scheduled. ESPN reported that Speaker Mike Johnson's office did not respond to a request for comment.

If the House does not act before a new Congress takes office in January, the legislative process would restart from scratch.

OU Athletic Director Roger Denny, who took the job in February, brings direct experience to the changing NIL environment. Denny spent two decades writing NIL language on license agreements and headed the University of Illinois' NIL strategy before coming to Norman, according to Sooner Magazine. In a profile published earlier this year, Denny told the magazine he expects college athletics to see "really rapid change" in intellectual property rights.

The House is scheduled to return Nov. 9. Whether the Protect College Sports Act reaches a vote before January depends on the midterm results and Johnson's willingness to bring it to the floor.