The biggest controversy in college football has turned into an opportunity for NFL teams.
Transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby will not play for Texas Tech this season and will instead enter the NFL’s supplemental draft, giving teams the chance to take the embattled 22-year-old who admittedly gambled on Indiana football when he was a member of the Hoosiers.
The NCAA lost its legal battle to prevent Sorsby from playing for the Red Raiders in 2026, but that did not stop Texas Tech’s Big 12 Conference rivals from threatening a variety of actions aimed at blocking him from playing.
The saga came to an end on Monday when ex-Texas Tech offensive lineman and current billionaire school donor Cody Campbell announced Sorsby’s intention to enroll in the supplemental draft a week before its deadline.
‘This decision was made with Brendan and his family and is purely an output of practical analysis of the situation,’ Campbell wrote. ‘Brendan and Texas Tech stand on very solid and legitimate legal ground, but he faces a June 22nd 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.
‘This is the only viable and fair path for Brendan and his future, as well as for his teammates, and our university.’
Transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby will not play for Texas Tech this season
Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech in January on a reported multimillion-dollar NIL deal after playing the past two seasons at Big 12 rival Cincinnati. Prior to his years with the Bearcats, Sorsby was at Indiana for both 2022 and 2023.
As revealed in court testimony, Sorsby has been diagnosed with an anxiety-driven gambling addiction and has recently completed a monthlong stay at an Arizona treatment program. He entered that program after the NCAA launched an investigation into wagering allegations earlier this year.
Sorsby has admittedly placed thousands of individual bets over his career at Indiana, Cincinnati and even his brief tenure at Texas Tech.
According to court documents, Sorsby placed at least 2,900 bets totaling over $30,000 between June 2022 and December 2023 while on the scout team at Indiana. This included 40 games where he bet on the Hoosiers, but this did not involve any games where he featured or had a legitimate chance of playing, per the filing. In total, he’s admitted to placing more than $90,000 in bets.
In addition, the NCAA alleges that Sorsby placed parlay bets involving the Indiana basketball team – including wagers ‘in favor of players on the opposing team.’
Cody Campbell, a former Texas Tech lineman, helped bring Sorsby to the Red Raiders
Student-athletes are prohibited from betting on any NCAA-sanctioned sport – college or professional – and could face permanent loss of eligibility if they’re found to wager on games involving their own team or another team in a different sport at their same school.
The NCAA hasn’t found evidence that Sorsby manipulated his performance, nor has there been any indication inside information was used to place these bets.
Regardless, the NCAA fought to keep Sorsby from playing football again, only to lose a key ruling last week when Texas judge Ken Curry prevented the governing body from blocking his eligibility.
But with the NCAA and Big 12 preparing more filings to challenge the injunction, and time running out on his chance to sign up for the supplemental draft, Sorsby ultimately opted to go to the NFL.
‘I pray that he can stay on his path to recovery,’ Campbell wrote. ‘Texas Tech will continue to provide the support and recovery resources Brendan requires on this journey.’
Big 12 athletic directors had expressed concern to commissioner Brett Yormark, with some reportedly threatening to boycott future games against the Red Raiders.
NFL teams will have the chance to add Sorsby by surrendering a draft pick in 2027
Big 12 athletic directors had expressed concern to commissioner Brett Yormark (pictured), with some reportedly threatening to boycott future games against the Red Raiders
Redshirt sophomore Will Hammond is expected to get the first crack at the job in Lubbock, where the Red Raiders are coming off a 12-2 season and a College Football Playoff berth.
The NFL’s supplemental draft does not have an official date just yet but is expected to take place sometime in July.
Receiving far less media attention than the annual NFL Draft and virtually no fanfare, this non-event is for players who were ruled ineligible in April, only to have their college status change before the ensuing season.
Teams follow a blind-bidding process at the supplemental draft. If a club is keen on a player, they can offer to exchange a pick in the following year’s NFL Draft for the right to add the prospect. For example, when the Cleveland Browns picked quarterback Bernie Kosar in the first round of the 1985 supplemental draft, they forfeited their first-round selection in the 1986 NFL Draft as a result.
Sorsby is considered an NFL prospect after throwing for 2,800 yards, 27 touchdowns and just five interceptions at Cincinnati in 2025.
