Criticism around Brendan Sorsby continues to rise as he prepares for one of the most important moments of his football career: the NFL Supplemental Draft. Many believe that he still needs to pay for his gambling addiction. But those close to him know that he’s already serving his punishment. 

Addressing the public backlash, Sorsby’s agent, Ron Slavin, defended his client. In a conversation with PFT, he pushed back against the narrative that the quarterback escaped the consequences of his actions. 

“He definitely didn’t escape punishment. The fact that in January, he could have made the decision to go to the draft,” Slavin told PFT. “We had a general manager call us on New Year’s Eve and say, ‘Are you really going back to school?’ He made the decision to go back to school because he wanted more than 25 or 35 starts on his résumé, given the success rate of quarterbacks with that level of experience. That was on his mind.

“He really wanted to come back to Texas, where he was born and raised. He wanted to go to Texas Tech and keep building on what they had already built last year. He wanted to win a national championship. He wanted to win a Heisman Trophy.

“The amount of money he lost because of this situation is astronomical. He spent his own money on attorneys to fight for him. He went through the process, and the way he’s been ridiculed in the media and crushed for something he did at 18 years old has been significant. If that’s not a harsh enough punishment in this day and age, where everyone is talked about 24/7, everyone has an opinion, and nobody has to be fact-checked anymore, I don’t know what is. I think the kid has faced a lot, and he was punished pretty heavily.”

The intensity of the controversy stems from the numbers associated with Sorsby’s gambling addiction. He admitted to placing around 9,000 bets amounting to over $90,000. He placed these bets over 40 games, and that included wagers on his own team, the Indiana Hoosiers.

The problem was serious enough for Steelers legend James Harrison to propose an eight-year suspension. 

From a financial standpoint, the losses seemed pretty high for Sorsby. During his tenure with the Cincinnati Bearcats, he received $875,800 for his performance. Following his transfer to Texas Tech, the UC filed a lawsuit demanding $1 million. They accused him of breaching his NIL contract. And since Sorsby secured a $5 million contract with Texas Tech, UC maintained that he was capable of paying the fine. But that’s just what’s on the records. Apart from these, he had to pay the legal fees and fines through his recent turmoil. 

Beyond that, the relentless backlash from the public serves as punishment itself. Yet Sorsby decided to return to college football.

As per Slavin, he moved to Texas just to put 25 to 35 starting games in his collegiate record. But even that didn’t work out, and he had to part ways with Texas Tech following a mutual agreement. And as Sorsby fought the legal battles, Texas Tech refused to take back his NIL money. 

Now, with his college career officially over and his lawsuit against the NCAA dropped, all eyes are looking forward to the July Supplemental Draft.