A betting scandal unravels his college career

Brendan Sorsby, a transfer quarterback recently at Texas Tech, admitted in court filings that he placed at least 40 bets on Indiana football games while a member of the program in 2022 and 2023. In total, he wagered around $90,000 over four years, including wagers on his own team, though he insisted none of those bets were on games in which he played. He entered an addiction treatment program on April 27, 2026. The NCAA subsequently ruled him ineligible for the 2026 season, a decision that ignited a multi-front legal battle.

Legal ping-pong between courts and conferences

A Texas state court in Lubbock County granted Sorsby a temporary injunction that would have allowed him to play after a two-game suspension. Texas Tech stood by its quarterback, prompting an angry response from the Big 12 Conference. On June 15, the same day Sorsby announced his intention to enter the NFL supplemental draft, the Big 12 filed a complaint in federal court against Texas Tech and Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, seeking to enforce its bylaws. The conference's athletic directors, excluding Texas Tech, had unanimously opposed Sorsby's participation. The NCAA also filed an appeal that day, pushing for an expedited resolution before the August 29 start of the college season. In its filing, the NCAA argued that allowing Sorsby to play would "obliterate the status quo" and create a "court-orchestrated competitive imbalance."

“This decision was made with Brendan and his family and is purely an output of practical analysis of the situation.”

Facing a February 2027 trial date and mounting opposition, Sorsby dropped his fight for college eligibility. His attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, told ESPN the lawsuit against the NCAA was "now moot" and would be withdrawn.

The NFL's rare refusal

Sorsby applied for the supplemental draft before the June 22 deadline, a rarely used mechanism for players who lose college eligibility after the standard draft. On June 23, the NFL responded with an unequivocal denial. A letter from Larry Ferazani, general counsel of the NFL Management Council, explained that the petition had been submitted only three business days before the deadline, lacked any supporting documents, and came after Sorsby abandoned his court challenges to NCAA sanctions. The letter stated there was "no basis for the league to alter these plans." Moreover, the league announced it would not hold a supplemental draft at all in 2026.

“Your petition – submitted only three business days before the deadline, without any supporting information or documents, and only after you abandoned your recent court steps to avert NCAA sanctions – provides no basis for the league to alter these plans.”

What comes next

Sorsby now faces a year without football. He is ineligible for the 2026 college season and cannot enter the NFL until the 2027 draft. The NFL's letter did not address any possibility of future participation, and Sorsby has indicated he will not pursue further legal action. The case leaves behind a trail of unresolved questions about the power of courts versus sports governing bodies, but for Sorsby the immediate path is closed.