In March 2026, the NCAA received a tip-off from an online gambling book about Texas Tech QB, Brendan Sorsby’s betting activities, which would make him ineligible to play college ball. From that revelation to now, a lot has happened, even as Sorsby has completed a gambling rehab in Arizona. With the NFL’s supplemental draft registration deadline on June 22, Sorsby’s football career is racing against time.

After the NCAA rendered Sorsby ineligible to play college football in May, the Texas Tech QB1 filed for an injunction against the NCAA in a lawsuit. The lawsuit’s first hearing was scheduled on Monday, and the judge has shown no inclination to deny or allow the injunction. For now, Sorsby’s attorney has requested a speedy hearing, before June 15, as he has urged them to view Sorsby’s gambling activities in a different light.

“This case, I think it has been badly misunderstood by a lot of people,” Sorsby’s attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, told. “It’s very important, and everyone understands that it is undisputed that he never did any betting to compromise the integrity of his team. The bets he made on his team were when he was not participating in that team, and he never bet again to do that.

“What this case is about is when you have no threat to competitive integrity, but you have a mental illness of gambling addiction, which is plaguing student-athletes across the country. The NCAA said in its policies that it would consider supporting the athletes, but instead, they want to punish them. That’s wrong. We think it’s illegal, and we hope the court will agree.”

The NCAA’s investigation and the court documents now reveal that the Texas Tech QB1 made thousands of bets, totaling around $90,000, while he played with Indiana and Cincinnati. Amongst those bets, around 40 of those were on Indiana, while he was part of the roster, although he didn’t bet on the games he played.

In total, documents show Sorsby making at least 2,900 bets in just two years at Indiana, and he even continued after transferring to Cincinnati. However, the NCAA wasn’t happy about it.

In fact, the NCAA’s attorney, Taylor Askew, drew a different picture: “Mr. Sorsby didn’t come forward. He got caught, and when he got caught, he went to treatment, and that’s the first time you heard about this mental health concern. He was found out by law enforcement, and that’s what triggered this.

“There is no proof in the record that we did not consider Mr. Sorsby’s mental status here.”

If Senior Judge Ken Curry grants Sorsby a temporary injunction, it would allow him to play for Texas Tech for the time being. Although Sorsby didn’t attend the 99th District Court in Lubbock County near Texas Tech, his attorney requested a ruling before June 15. That’s a week before the NFL’s supplemental draft registration ends. In a sense, Sorsby himself is planning for all contingencies if the appeal fails.

Sorsby’s main defense in his whole lawsuit is that his mental health will be affected if he is denied an opportunity to redeem himself. As echoed through his attorney, Sorsby had no intent to corrupt the integrity of the sport, and his refusal to play football would severely impede his recovery process. For now, though, the Red Raiders’ QB is counting on it. But what happens if that doesn’t pan out?

Consensus is divided in the NFL regarding Brendan Sorsby’s NFL draft case

The NFL’s supplemental draft has a June 22 registration deadline, and the Texas Tech QB1 hopes to get a decision before that threshold. For now, the NFL has given him a July 5 to 12 workout window if he enters the supplemental draft, and he can even have a Pro Day in the Dallas area (per Sports Illustrated). The actual draft is scheduled for late July, and that should give Sorsby enough time to prepare. But not all teams are interested in his services.

“I don’t think we’re in a position to want to go down that road,” Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken said on Monday to the media. “That’s my opinion, that’s not [general manager Andrew Berry’s].

“I like the quarterbacks that we have. I think that’s a slippery slope when you go down that, irrespective of talent, right? In terms of the situation he’s [put] himself in, we all know what that is. He put himself in that situation. And we’ve seen in other sports with players who have been banned for life.”

Despite Monken’s caution on drafting Sorsby, he would still be the biggest supplemental draft entry in many years. He is still considered a tier-2 QB behind the likes of Arch Manning and Dante Moore, needing another season of college ball to bolster his stock. Without it now, he will be at the mercy of his 2025 season, where he passed for 2,800 yards and rushed for another 580. Nevertheless, many NFL executives are confident that teams will line up for his services.

“If he comes out in the supplemental draft, he’s going to be the most consequential prospect in a long, long time,” an NFL executive said to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe in May.

For Texas Tech, though, denial of the appeal will be a nightmare scenario. The team has invested north of $5 million in the QB. And with the transfer portal being closed, they will be stuck with backup QB Will Hammond for the full 2026 season.