Sorsby hires Kessler to fight NCAA gambling probe
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- Brendan Sorsby retained prominent antitrust attorney Jeffrey Kessler to try to regain his college eligibility amid an NCAA sports gambling investigation, while Texas Tech announced he was checking into a residential treatment program for gambling addiction.
- Sorsby is believed to have placed thousands of online bets on a gambling app, including wagers on Indiana football while he was a member of that program in 2022.
- The NCAA's 2023-revised guidelines allow student-athletes who wager on their own games or other sports at their own school to face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility.
- Jeffrey Kessler was a lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the House vs. NCAA antitrust case and has represented the NFLPA on behalf of Tom Brady, Ray Rice, Ezekiel Elliott, Adrian Peterson, and the Saints' Bountygate players.
- If Sorsby and Kessler cannot find a path to eligibility, he could enter the NFL supplemental draft—the first supplemental pick since safety Jalen Thompson went in the fifth round in 2019, and the most prominent since Josh Gordon (2012) and Terrelle Pryor (2011).
- Sorsby was ESPN's No. 1-ranked transfer this offseason after earning second-team All-Big 12 honors at Cincinnati with 2,800 passing yards and 27 touchdowns, and was projected as a top 2026 NFL draft prospect and one of the highest-paid college quarterbacks at more than $5 million.
Why it matters: Sorsby, ESPN's No. 1 transfer and a projected top 2026 NFL draft prospect reportedly earning more than $5 million, retained the lead attorney from House v. NCAA to fight permanent loss of eligibility under 2023 NCAA rules—leaving the NFL supplemental draft, dormant since Jalen Thompson in 2019, as his last viable path to a pro career.
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