UC Reportedly Suing Brendan Sorsby For Buyout Money Following Exit From Football Program

CINCINNATI — The University of Cincinnati is reportedly suing former Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby for a $1 million buyout following his alleged breach of a NIL contract to transfer away from Cincinnati to Texas Tech.

The Athletic's Justin Williams first reported the buyout between the two sides last month and just reported the now-pending lawsuit.

"A lawsuit complaint was filed Wednesday by the University of Cincinnati in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Western Division," Williams wrote. "It states that in July 2025, Sorsby, while represented by a professional agent, signed an 18-month, two season name, image and likeness (NIL) agreement with the University of Cincinnati, and that Cincinnati agreed to pay Sorsby a substantial amount for the 2025 season 'with the express expectation that it would realize the majority of the benefits during the following season, 2026, after Sorsby’s play developed and his brand grew.' The lawsuit also states that Sorsby 'promised to pay to the university $1 million in liquidated damages if he transferred to another university before completion of the agreement’s full term.' The agreement ran through Dec. 15, 2026."

Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech officially last month after a top-15 quarterback season statistically.

The wins didn't materialize across November, but Cincinnati still did all it could to keep him on the roster. Alas, Sorsby reportedly signed a $5 million one-year NIL deal with the Red Raiders.

Both sides of the lawsuit provided statements to Williams. He previously reported Sorsby agreed to a buyout clause in his revenue sharing and mult-year collective agreements, while the reported payment he ultimately got is in question.

Williams reported Sorsby made $1.5 million in NIL from Cincinnati, while his agency is claiming ra little over half that ended up coming to the passer.

“Cincinnati Athletics is proud to partner with its student-athletes and honors the contractual commitments it makes to them. We expect student-athletes and their representatives to do the same,” Cincinnati wrote in their statement. “In his lucrative NIL agreement with Cincinnati athletics, Brendan Sorsby committed to stay and play for two seasons as a proud Bearcat representative. He also agreed that if he left the university before that time, he would pay the university a specific amount for the substantial harm that his breach would cause. Cincinnati Athletics intends to enforce that contractual commitment. As stewards of the university’s resources, the athletics department has a duty to do so. We thank Brendan for his time at Cincinnati and wish him success in the future.”

“Pursuing legal action against Brendan Sorsby is misguided. University of Cincinnati, through its revenue-share structure, paid him $875,800 for a season he fully completed, and in that time, he generated millions in value for the program," LIFT Sports Management, Sorsby's representatives, said to The Athletic. "Attempting to recover those funds now sends the wrong message to current and future student-athletes and risks damaging the long-term credibility of Cincinnati football. This is further disappointing given that Brendan parted ways with UC in what was a mutually agreeable manner.

“The money the university seeks to recover from him is nothing more than an unlawful penalty under Ohio law. Because UC has chosen to pursue this course of action, Brendan will aggressively defend the lawsuit and pursue any and alldamages he incurs as a result of it.”

A juicy homecoming got an even deeper layer with this news.

Texas Tech and Sorsby play at Nippert Stadium on Oct. 24. Time will tell if this situation gets resolved before that contest, it may take a bit to hammer out the case depending on how all of the language ends up reading out. Either way, neither side sounds ready to budge right now.

Check out the full report from Williams here.

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