On Monday morning, it was announced that a Texas judge granted Texas Tech star quarterback Brendan Sorsby a preliminary injunction against the NCAA, allowing him to play football this season after serving a two-game suspension. Sorsby was caught placing well over 2,000 wagers worth over $90,000 on college and professional sports, and even placed 40 bets on the Indiana Hoosiers in 2022, when he was apart of the team.

Obviously, this is a massive no-no, and the NCAA was going to make an example out of him. Want to bet on your own team? You’ll never play college football again. But since the NCAA doesn’t really have any power and can be overruled by a random judge in Texas, Sorsby will now be able to play almost the entirety of the 2026 season.

I already broke down why this decision may have put the final nail in the NCAA’s coffin, but as the old saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. There are a handful of teams that could benefit from Sorsby being in next year’s draft class.

What Would’ve Happened if Sorsby Was Ruled Ineligible?

Let’s start by talking about what would’ve happened had the judge declared Sorsby ineligible for the 2026 season.

Had the judge ruled Brendan Sorsby ineligible for 2026, like the NCAA wanted, many believe he would’ve entered the NFL’s supplemental draft. Not many fans know much about the supplemental draft, because there are very rarely any players drafted in it. In fact, there hasn’t been a single player drafted in the supplemental draft since 2019. That’s how irrelevant it’s become.

So how does the supplemental draft work? Let’s start with the draft order, which isn’t the same as it is for the NFL Draft. Instead, teams are separated into three categories: teams that won fewer than six games, teams that won 7+ but missed the playoffs, and then playoff teams. From there, it’s a weighted lottery system. Teams with worse records have a higher chance of picking earlier, but you could still have a six-win team picking first overall or the Super Bowl champion getting the highest pick of all playoff teams.

The supplemental draft also works a bit differently than the normal draft. Instead of being put on the clock, everyone submits blind bids for a player. Let’s say Sorsby was entering the supplemental draft and the Cleveland Browns really wanted him. They could bid a second round pick on him and hope that no other team bids anything higher. If they won the bidding war, they would lose their second round pick in the following draft.

While this could very well play into a team’s benefit, it’s also a massive gamble. Unless you had the 1.01 in the supplemental draft, there’s no way of guaranteeing you’d get Sorsby. Then, there’s also the aspect of him coming out a year early. Teams love him as a prospect, but with this gambling situation hanging over his head and one less year in college, who knows how big of a risk teams would be willing to make?

Entering the supplemental draft would’ve been worst case for Sorsby and the teams interested in him.

Just How Good is Sorsby?

A lot of NFL fans don’t watch college football, so you may be asking yourself why this ruling is such a big deal. Well, the kid is damn good at football and is probably going to be a first round pick next year.

Sorsby spent the first two years of his career at Indiana, but once the coaching change happened and Kurt Cignetti entered the building, he transferred to Cincinnati, where he took over as their starter in 2024 and never looked back.

In year one, Sorsby threw for 2,800 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions while rushing for 450 yards and nine scores. Not bad, but it wasn’t until 2025 that he really put himself on the map.

Last year, Sorsby was one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, totaling nearly 3,400 yards of offense with 36 total touchdowns and five interceptions. There’s a reason he was the top quarterback in the transfer portal and received interest from schools like LSU and Texas Tech.

But if you’re not a stats guy, all you have to do is watch the tape. Sorsby is 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, can run and can make pretty much every throw on the field. He has all the tools you want in an NFL quarterback, and he has the stats to back it up.

Yeah, this kid is good at football and could be the No. 1 quarterback in this draft class when it’s all said and done. That’s why this ruling is such a big deal.

Which Teams Will Benefit From Sorsby Entering the 2027 Draft?

Every team can benefit from Sorsby returning to college. Everyone will get a much better look at him in his final season, especially because he’s on a team many expect to contend for the National Championship, but his return to college is really going to help out some QB-needy teams.

The Cleveland Browns have Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders battling it out for the starting job, but I’m not sure they feel great about either of those guys. If things don’t go well this year, they will absolutely be in the quarterback market next year, but their roster is also talented enough for them to likely not be picking in the top-five. By adding another elite quarterback to the mix, it give Cleveland a greater chance at finding their quarterback of the future next offseason.

Same goes for the New York Jets. They have Geno Smith under center, but he’s not a long-term solution, and their roster actually looks decent on paper. They’ll probably be picking in the 5-10 range, which typically would be too far back for them to find their franchise quarterback, but with Sorsby likely entering next year, that just gives them one more chance to land their guy.

As for the Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals, who will likely be picking No. 1 and No. 2 in some order next year, it just gives them another option. If Arch Manning or Dante Moore don’t perform in 2027, or decide not to declare for one reason or another, Sorsby could very well be a contender for a top-two pick in April. It won’t be like this year, where the Jets had the No. 2 pick, and when Moore returned to school, they had to settle for a defensive player instead of a quarterback.

But Sorsby coming out next year instead of this year could also help out some other teams picking towards the top of the order. Let’s say the Las Vegas Raiders or Tennessee Titans, who already have their quarterbacks of the future in place, end up with the No. 3 pick, and it looks like Manning and Moore are going to go first and second. That No. 3 pick now becomes much more valuable. They could move back a couple of spots with someone like Cleveland or New York and get a massive haul in return.

Sorsby returning to college is absolutely horrible for the NCAA, but it’s far from the worst thing that could’ve happened for a handful of NFL teams. Someone is going to get a very talented quarterback in the NFL Draft next year.