Now that the Brendan Sorsby saga is over from a Texas Tech standpoint, it’s easy to forget the kind of backlash the Red Raiders faced just a few weeks ago. Their own conference was considering its legal options against Joey McGuire’s team. Several other programs [non-Big 12 teams] openly backed the idea of boycotting them across all sports. However, for Ohio State AD Ross Bjork, that question never came up for debate at the Big 10 level.

“The Big 10 never, we never had any conversations as a group to talk about not scheduling Texas Tech in any way,” Bjork said at a press conference on June 25 when asked if the Buckeyes were considering not scheduling the Red Raiders in any sport. “I think we have some tournament games against them. I don’t think we have any home and home setups with them. So for us, it really wasn’t an issue. We didn’t even talk about it.”

Bjork also revealed the peculiar timing of the whole scandal. Apparently, the Lubbock court verdict granting Sorsby eligibility for the 2026 season came when athletic directors were gathered in Las Vegas for their annual convention. Although the Ohio State AD understood the depth of the situation, from his program’s perspective, the boycott was not a priority.

But that wasn’t the case with Nebraska and Georgia. The Huskers’ AD Troy Dannen issued a directive banning any future scheduling with Texas Tech if Sorsby were to play for McGuire’s team. In the same vein, Georgia AD Josh Brooks deemed the whole thing an ‘integrity’ issue, as Sorsby was getting away without punishment despite committing violations many deem as a ‘cardinal sin.’

The legal fallout from Sorsby’s temporary injunction ignited an unprecedented backlash that threatened to paralyze athletics well beyond football. After a Texas judge blocked the NCAA’s lifetime ban for Sorsby’s $90,000 sports gambling violations, which included betting on his own team at Indiana, opposing universities and conference leaders immediately coordinated a severe counter-strategy.

Because the court’s injunction specifically barred the NCAA from using its “rule of restitution” to strip wins from Texas Tech or any school that competed against them, opposing athletic programs weaponized a multi-sport boycott to isolate Texas Tech entirely. The Big 12 prepared federal court filings to overturn the injunction and threatened severe administrative sanctions. Rival athletic directors from the conference quietly notified stakeholders that they would forfeit games rather than step onto a field or court with the Red Raiders.

In response to the widening cross-sport boycott, Texas Tech representatives issued a formal warning to the Big 12. The university explored individual lawsuits against rival conference universities whose officials publicly stated they would refuse to play the Red Raiders in any athletic capacity.

For a few days, it looked like everything was going to fall apart. Texas Tech wasn’t just standing by its QB. The decision-makers in the program even gathered for a panel discussion to explain why they supported Sorsby from an empathetic perspective. At the same time, the NCAA decided to appeal the decision. The Big 12 was weighing its options against the Red Raiders. And before more blows could be exchanged, Sorsby withdrew his initial case against the governing body.

Sorsby’s fight with the NFL

During the entire ordeal, Joey McGuire stood by his quarterback and even spoke in his favor on multiple occasions. But that support could only go so far as Texas Tech started facing tangible threats from the Big 12 conference.

There were reports that the Red Raiders could face a postseason ban if Sorsby plays for them. To save the program from any further damage, Texas Tech and Sorsby came to a compromise and the QB decided to withdraw his case against the NCAA and prepared to enter the supplemental draft. However, that route didn’t work out so easily for him.

The NFL said it won’t hold a supplemental draft this year. Moreover, in its statement, the league said it is concerned about Sorsby’s gambling history and the lack of remorse he has shown in his actions.

Sorsby’s attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, is launching an aggressive legal counter-offensive against the NFL, publicly declaring that the league’s summary cancellation of the 2026 Supplemental Draft is “a violation of the CBA and the law”. Working alongside the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), Kessler is preparing a multi-pronged challenge to force the league to accommodate the former Texas Tech quarterback.

Kessler’s foundational argument is that the NFL cannot unilaterally weaponize the draft process as an ad-hoc disciplinary tool and their actions are in violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). While the NFL claims “sole discretion” over whether to hold a Supplemental Draft in a given year, Kessler argues that the draft infrastructure was collectively bargained with the NFLPA to provide an entry path for specific eligible athletes. By canceling the event specifically to lock out an applicant, the NFL is violating the spirit and agreed-upon rules of the CBA.

The explicit criteria for entering the supplemental draft require a player to have had their college eligibility modified or stripped after the primary April draft. Sorsby fits this exact definition. Kessler argues the league is creating a non-CBA sanctioned, subjective moral barrier to deny an otherwise procedurally qualified athlete.

Under the CBA, any discipline or restriction on a player’s livelihood must go through the established NFL Personal Conduct Policy, which guarantees a formal hearing, neutral arbitration, and strict due process. Kessler argues that canceling the draft to bypass a fair hearing amounts to an illegal, unilateral lifetime ban.

For players who get rejected by the NFL, the CFL is usually a safe bet. Unfortunately, Sorsby can’t even go there. The CFL also said that it won’t let the QB play for its teams this year. So, where does Sorsby stand? Well, junior college is one option. However, according to media analysts like Dan Patrick, the QB should also spend some time building a redemption arc. Otherwise, there is a chance that NFL teams may hesitate to draft him even next year.