Brendan Sorsby entering NFL Supplemental Draft after parting ways with Texas Tech
After winning his legal battle against the NCAA for reinstatement, Brendan Sorsby will not play an additional down in college football.
The quarterback is planning on entering his name into the NFL's supplemental draft, two people close to the situation confirmed to USA TODAY Sports on June 15.
The news comes just over a week after a judge in Lubbock County ruled in favor of the Red Raiders quarterback in his lawsuit against the NCAA, which granted him a temporary injunction to become eligible to play this upcoming season after he was under investigation by the NCAA for a gambling addiction.
"The NCAA strongly disagrees with the court's ruling in Sorsby's case and is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of the outcome — which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports," the NCAA wrote in a statement after the June 8 ruling by the Lubbock County judge.
Sorsby, though reinstated to join the Red Raiders for the upcoming season, had until Monday, June 22 to decide whether he'd enter his name into the supplemental draft. He was set to be suspended for the first two games of Texas Tech's upcoming season against Abilene Christian and Oregon State as per the terms of the court ruling.
Texas Tech and Sorsby have been at the center of a firestorm in college football since last week's ruling, as the ex-Indiana and Cincinnati quarterback violated the NCAA's gambling protocols by placing bets on college athletics and professional sports. In court documents filed by Sorsby's legal team to the NCAA on May 29, Sorsby placed more than 9,000 bets for a total of over $90,000. These bets were placed under accounts that were registered under the names of family members and friends.
Within the last day, the Big 12 Conference filed a complaint in federal court seeking a declaratory judgment that would allow the league to enforce its bylaws and potentially sanction member Texas Tech should the school play Sorsby. The complaint comes after Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark has spoken out against Sorsby's reinstatement, as it presented "great concern" among conference members, and had held several meetings with conference members and stakeholders in recent days.
"The ramifications of today's ruling are significant and could have broad impacts across college athletics, creating great concern amongst our membership," Yormark said in a statement on June 8.
What did Brendan Sorsby do?
In short, Sorsby violated the NCAA's gambling protocols and admitted to it.
Sorsby placed "thousands" of online bets on a variety of sports via a gambling app — including ones involving Indiana games during his true freshman season as a Hoosier in 2022. He'd spent over $90,000 worth of bets in a four-year period that also included wagers on professional sports leagues.
He had been under investigation by the NCAA, which also denied his request for reinstatement for the 2026 season on Tuesday, May 26. That led Sorsby to file a lawsuit against the NCAA seeking reinstatement on his own. In documents included with his injunction filing, Sorsby admitted to placing the bets during his freshman season at Indiana in 2022, which he mentioned he placed "as a way to feel more connected to the team, to root for my friends, and to feel like I had a real 'take' in the games that I otherwise was not involved in."
Sorsby — who also included in the injunction that he was "clinically diagnosed" with a gambling disorder and that it was "a mental health condition" — completed a 35-day inpatient rehab program in Arizona for his gambling addiction.
Texas Tech, Brendan Sorsby backlash
Sorsby being granted a temporary injunction to become eligible to play created an immediate uproar and backlash within college athletics for Texas Tech and its quarterback that stretched outside the Big 12 conference.
The backlash even included several athletics directors coming publicly and stating that they would not allow their programs to schedule the Big 12 program in future contests, regardless of the sport. One of those was Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks.
"Based on recent developments, Georgia Athletics will not schedule future contests against Texas Tech until further notice," Brooks said in a memo to staff obtained Monday by the Athens Banner-Herald, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Before news broke on Monday that Sorsby would not be playing for Texas Tech next season, Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger reported that Michigan canceled its scheduled volleyball match against Texas Tech this upcoming season. Both programs were set to face each other in September during a three-game non-conference tournament with Eastern Michigan and Cornell in Ann Arbor.
Sorbsy legal team to 'withdraw' lawsuit
Jeffrey Kessler, who served on Sorsby's legal team, told ESPN's Pete Thamel that the quarterback's legal team "will withdraw the lawsuit seeking a temporary injunction for his eligibility.
"It is now moot, so we will withdraw it," Kessler told Thamel.
As noted by USA TODAY, a player must be deemed ineligible to apply for an application to the NFL supplemental draft, which requires the NFL's approval.
Cody Campbell releases letter on Brendan Sorsby
In a letter-formatted statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday night, Cody Campbell, a prominent Texas Tech booster and Chairman of the Board of Regents of the Texas Tech University System, confirmed that Sorsby will not be a member of Texas Tech's football program this season.
Campbell almost mentioned that Texas Tech "conducted thorough and appropriate background checks before signing" Sorsby and that "Texas Tech had absolutely no knowledge of any of his history of gambling activity until months after he arrived in Lubbock."
He also pointed to "one important fact that has been broadly misunderstood" on the matter, which was that Texas Tech did not file the "at-issue lawsuit against the NCAA" seeking Sorsby's reinstatement and that Sorsby himself filed it and "paid for the full legal expenses of doing so." He'd go on to mention that "the bottom line is that Texas Tech did absolutely nothing but act with complete integrity through this entire process. We broke no rules, no laws, and crossed no ethical lines."
Texas Tech statement on Brendan Sorsby
Texas Tech issued a statement on Sorsby's departure on June 15, stating it will continue to support Sorsby's mental health as a "student and athlete," although he won't be part of the program.
Brendan Sorsby statement
Sorsby, for his part, also released a statement on the decision, thanking those around him. "I am grateful for the support from my family, my Tech coaching staff, teammates, the community, and so many others who have encouraged me to address and learn more about this important issue," Sorsby wrote in a post on Instagram. "As my journey continues, I remain fully committed to and focused on being the best I can be, both on and off the field."
What is the NFL supplemental draft?
Sorsby is eligible to enter the NFL's supplemental draft if he loses his college football eligibility for the coming NCAA season, a league spokesperson told USA TODAY Sports in April. His application to enter a supplemental draft this year still needs to be reviewed by the NFL.
The NFL supplemental draft provides an opportunity for players who planned to play college football but have since become ineligible a chance to apply for NFL membership.
Here's what the NFL rulebook says about the supplemental draft, per CBS Sports:
"If such player participates in spring football or other team-related activities at his school, or otherwise indicates that he intends to return to college to play football, he is not eligible for selection in the Principal Draft," the NFL rulebook reads. "If he subsequently fails to become eligible for participation in the following college football season, he may apply for a Supplemental Draft, if the League elects to schedule one."
The supplemental draft is typically held in June or July – if the NFL schedules one. Players have to apply for eligibility for it and their applications are reviewed by the NFL on a case-by-case basis.
Unlike the actual NFL draft, players are selected via an auction process. NFL teams place bids on players on a round-by-round basis using picks from next year's draft. The highest bidder is then awarded the player. Should a player not be selected, he is eligible to sign with an NFL club as a free agent.
This story has been added with new information