Sorsby Enters NFL Supplemental Draft After Gambling
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- Brendan Sorsby intends to enter the NFL supplemental draft ahead of 2026, per ESPN's Pete Thamel, after the Big 12 filed a federal lawsuit against Texas Tech and at least Georgia and Nebraska refused to schedule games against the Red Raiders.
- Sorsby had been ruled ineligible by the NCAA for wagering approximately $90,000 on pro and college sports over four years, including 40 bets on Indiana football while he was a freshman on the team; a Texas judge granted a temporary injunction on June 8 making him eligible before the June 22 supplemental draft declaration deadline.
- Sorsby arrived at Texas Tech as ESPN's No. 1 transfer-portal player after throwing for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns at Cincinnati in 2025, and was projected to earn more than $5 million as one of the sport's highest-paid players.
- NFL executives told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler that Sorsby is worth a second-round supplemental pick, with one AFC exec saying he would have been a late first-rounder in April's draft and ranked ahead of No. 13 pick Ty Simpson on most boards.
- The supplemental draft uses a weighted lottery and forfeits a team's equivalent pick in the following year's draft; no player has been selected in one since the Cardinals took safety Jalen Thompson in 2019, and no quarterback has entered since Terrelle Pryor went to the Raiders in 2011.
- Analyst Ben Solak named eight potential suitors — Cardinals, Browns, Jets, Dolphins, Falcons, Steelers, Colts, and Vikings — all with QB needs ranging from bridge starters to developmental backups behind aging passers like Aaron Rodgers and Kyler Murray.
Why it matters: The NFL hasn't held a supplemental draft since 2023 and hasn't selected a player in one since 2019, so Sorsby's application would force the league to revive a dormant process. With at least eight QB-needy teams and scouts rating him a second-round talent, Sorsby could land a contract comparable to a third-round pick from April's draft (~$6.9 million over four years) while Texas Tech loses a marquee transfer who was projected to be its $5 million starter.
