Report: Embattled QB Brendan Sorsby Heading to NFL Supplemental Draft
Posted on: June 15, 2026, 09:49h.
Last updated on: June 16, 2026, 04:07h.
- Decision comes amid ongoing legal wrangling over Texas Tech quarterback’s college eligibility
- Sorsby has been treated for a gambling addiction
- Last week, Sorsby had been granted a temporary injunction against the NCAA opening the door for a resumption of his college career
Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby will forgo the 2026 college football season and enter the NFL Supplemental Draft, ending an unprecedented legal war over his eligibility, according to multiple news reports on Monday (June 15).
$90,000 in Wagers
According to reporting by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the quarterback “could be the highest-drafted supplemental pick in decades.”
It’s the latest chapter in legal wrangling over Sorsby’s efforts to resume his college football career after being declared ineligible by the NCAA because of gambling allegations.
On Monday (June 8) of last week, a U.S. District Court granted a temporary injunction against the NCAA allowing the Texas Tech quarterback to rejoin the team and prepare for the 2026 season.
Temporary Injunction
Sorsby allegedly wagered over $90,000 during his college career at Indiana, Cincinnati and Texas Tech, over different sportsbooks, according to documents obtained by ESPN, including gambling on his own team when Sorsby was redshirting with the Indiana Hoosiers.
Under NCAA rules, student-athletes are forbidden to bet on any NCAA-sanctioned sports, college or professional, and face permanent loss of eligibility if the individual is found to have bet on their own team, or on teams in different sports from the same school.
Sorsby admitted he broke NCAA rules, but added he never bet on a game that he played in.
Big 12 Lawsuit
While Texas Tech’s administration rallied behind their quarterback, the Big 12 has struck back. The conference filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas against both the university and the Texas Attorney General, seeking the right to use its internal bylaws to sanction Texas Tech. This legal escalation follows a wave of backlash last week from rival athletic directors who fiercely opposed a U.S. District Court injunction protecting the quarterback.
According to ESPN, the Big 12’s lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment affirming that the First Amendment protects the conference’s right to discipline Texas Tech if the school fields an athlete involved in sports betting.
Simultaneously, the Big 12 Board of Directors convened a meeting on Tuesday, while the NCAA filed an emergency motion to halt Sorsby’s temporary injunction. In a statement reported by On3, the Big 12 Board of Directors doubled down on their stance:
“The Big 12 has long spoken out about the dangers of sports wagering and remains committed to protecting the competitive integrity of conference competition. Universities should not field players who have bet on their own team’s games in college athletics.”
The bitter legal warfare cuts short Sorsby’s attempts at a comeback, which included recently completing a 35-day inpatient gambling rehabilitation program. For Texas Tech, the stakes couldn’t be higher; Sorsby wasn’t just a standard transfer portal addition last offseason—he was a premier target and represented one of the most expensive NIL acquisitions in college football history.
Top 5 Quarterback
His on-field production certainly justified the hype. During his final season at Cincinnati, Sorsby turned heads by throwing for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns against just five interceptions. A lethal dual-threat weapon, he also amassed more than 1,290 career rushing yards at the collegiate level.
That elite skillset is exactly why Texas Tech committed a staggering, reported $5 million NIL package to secure him this season—fully expecting him to spearhead a national championship run in Lubbock.
Instead, his path pivots directly to the NFL Supplemental Draft in July. It is a stunning turn of events for a player whom multiple draft analysts already projected as a lock to be a Top 5 quarterback selected in the 2027 NFL Draft.
NFL Supplemental Draft in July
The supplemental draft is for players whose college eligibility status has changed (disciplinary suspensions, academic issues, transfers).
NFL teams submit confidential bids for eligible players and what round pick they are willing to surrender. The NFL awards the player to the team that made the highest bid. If a team takes a player in the 2026 supplemental draft it loses that corresponding pick in the 2027 college draft.
Teams can choose to use a pick that it already traded for as well.
Due Diligence Work on Sorsby
The New York Jets, for example, own three first-round picks in 2027 – their own, and two they acquired in trades with the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts. And the Jets need quarterback depth.
The Cleveland Browns are reported to have put in some due diligence work on Sorsby.
“In terms of the situation he’s [put] himself in, we all know what that is,” Browns head coach Todd Monken told reporters last week. “He put himself in that situation, and we’ve seen in other sports players that have been banned for life from playing in professional sports.
“But from my end of it, [it’s] kind of a tough angle to go down that road and think that’s going to be your franchise quarterback if he’s ever eligible to even play in the NFL.” Monken added.
QB Developmental Project
Most NFL experts compare Sorsby to a quarterback taken in the fourth or fifth round of the NFL Draft, a talented starter with upside but in need of development, unlike someone like the Vegas Raiders’ Fernando Mendoza, taken first overall in the NFL Draft in April, and possibly an NFL starter for next season.
Teams like the New Orleans Saints, Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Rams might take a shot at a college quarterback like Sorsby, with proven college production, experience in multiple offensive systems, and NFL-caliber size and arm strength.
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