Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby to Enter NFL Supplemental Draft Amidst Sports Betting Legal Wrangling
By Robert Linnehan in Industry
Published:
- According to several reports, Texas Tech transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby will be entering the NFL supplemental draft
- Sorsby had been ruled ineligible by the NCAA for online sports betting activity, but a judge granted a temporary injunction to let him play this upcoming season
- The quarterback will now seek to enter the NFL through the league’s supplemental draft after his college return was slowed by legal activity
The courts will no longer have a say in Texas Tech transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s potential return to college football amidst legal wrangling involving his past sports betting activity.
According to a report from ESPN, Sorsby has decided to enter the NFL through the league’s supplemental draft instead of continuing his legal fight to play for Texas Tech in the upcoming college football season.
Sorsby, a transfer from the University of Cincinnati, was slated to be Texas Tech’s starting quarterback for the upcoming season. However, this past April Sorsby checked himself into a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction after the discovery that he had placed thousands of online sports bets through a sports betting platform during his college football career.
Differing Legal Opinions
The NCAA initially ruled Sorsby ineligible for the upcoming college football season after it was found he had placed thousands of bets totaling more than $90,000 on professional and college sports while playing for both Indiana University and the University of Cincinnati. However, a Texas judge on June 8 granted Sorsby a temporary injunction to allow him to play for the university.
Despite the ruling, the NCAA requested an appeal of the decision and earlier this week the Big 12 filed for a federal injunction for the right to handle the Sorsby situation.
Now, the legal fight will no longer matter, as Sorsby will surely be drafted by a team in the league’s supplemental draft later this month. The supplemental draft is divided into three groups of teams; teams with six or fewer wins the previous season, the remaining non-playoff teams, and teams that made the playoffs.
Each of these group features a random order of teams. If a team wishes to draft Sorsby, they will “bid” draft picks they have in the following year on that player. The team submitting the highest pick is able to draft the player, and they give up the corresponding pick in next year’s draft.
The supplemental draft is held for players who did not file for the typical league draft or who have no more NCAA eligibility. It will be held in late July.
Sorsby had been projected as a top pick in the 2027 NFL draft.
Years of Sports Betting
Sorsby began his NCAA football career at Indiana in 2022, redshirting with the team as a true freshman. Sorsby allegedly placed several bets on Indiana to win several matchups during the season. Sorsby only appeared in one game as a reserve that season, but did not place a bet on that particular game.
Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech from Cincinnati in the offseason and projected to be the university’s starting quarterback. Now he’s projected to be a highly sought after prospect in the NFL’s supplemental draft.
Cody Campbell, chairman of the Board of Regents of the Texas Tech University System, said in a statement that Texas Tech had no knowledge of his previous sports betting activity prior to him transferring to the program.
There is no solution for Sorsby to play for Texas Tech this season, Campbell said, leaving the NFL as the only option. The deadline for Sorsby to apply for the supplemental draft is June 22.
“This decision was made with Brendan and his family and is purely an output of practical analysis of the situation. Brendan and Texas Tech stand on very solid and legitimate legal ground, but he faces a June 22 deadline to be eligible to enter the NFL’s supplemental draft, and there is no practical way to resolve all the various pending legal disputes and ensure his eligibility prior to this date,” Campbell said.
According to NCAA guidelines, a student-athlete who wagers on their own games or on other sports at their own schools may potentially face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility in all sports. Sorsby did place bets on Indiana football during his redshirt freshman season at the school, but only bet on the team to win.
Additionally, if a student-athlete is found to be wagering on their own sport at another school they could potentially lose 50% of one season of eligibility if reinstated.
NCAA Betting Ban Remains in Place
The NCAA considered amending its sports betting rules in 2025, actually going so far as to approve legislation to permit student-athletes and athletics department staff members to bet on professional sports.
However, the NCAA reversed course on its decision last November, as two-thirds of Division I members schools voted to rescind a previously approved rule change to allow student-athletes, coaches, and staff to bet on professional sports.
The ban on all forms of betting remains in place for all three NCAA divisions.
Regulatory Writer and Editor
Robert Linnehan covers all regulatory developments in online gambling and sports betting. He specializes in U.S. sports betting news along with casino regulation news as one of the most trusted sources in the country.
