Could Brendan Sorsby’s NFL Career Begin With a Suspension? Here’s What History Tells Us

Brendan Sorsby’s college football career is over.

After a Lubbock County judge granted the star quarterback an injunction last week that would allow him to play for Texas Tech in 2026 amid his ongoing sports betting scandal, a hectic week-plus in college sports ensued, and Sorsby then announced on Monday night that he is instead planning to apply for the NFL’s supplemental draft.

A quick synopsis: Sorsby checked into rehab in late April for a gambling addiction and was ruled ineligible by the NCAA on May 18 while it investigated him for allegedly making “thousands” of bets on college sports. Sorsby later admitted to the activity in a telling affidavit in which he also revealed that he had placed at least 40 wagers involving his own team at the time, Indiana.

The 22-year-old then applied for reinstatement and was denied, and Texas Tech’s subsequent appeal was also rejected. Three days later, however, the aforementioned injunction granted by Texas judge Ken Curry restored Sorsby’s eligibility and levied just a two-game suspension, which was recommended by the quarterback’s own attorneys.

The lawless body that is college sports—and specifically football—has since been stirred into a frenzy, with programs threatening to boycott playing the Red Raiders and the Big 12 going to federal court in an attempt to overrule Curry’s injunction. The ongoing legal battle seemingly forced a decision from Sorsby, and in a statement on Monday night, Texas Tech board of regents chairman Cody Campbell announced that the signal-caller would “not be a part of [the university’s] football team this fall,” and instead planned to apply for the NFL’s supplemental draft. Sorsby himself then put out a statement that said, “I am grateful for the support from my family, my Tech coaching staff, teammates, the community, and so many others who have encouraged me to address and learn more about this important issue. As my journey continues, I remain fully committed to and focused on being the best I can be, both on and off the field.”

MORE: 5 NFL Teams That Should Consider Bidding on Brendan Sorsby in a Potential Supplemental Draft

Now, as Sports Illustrated’s own Pat Forde put it in his latest column, the hot potato that is Sorsby has now been thrown into the hands of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell & Co., which raises the question: could the quarterback be handed a punishment at the professional level?

Here’s what history tells us.

Brendan Sorsby could face a suspension to begin his NFL career

The NFL’s supplemental draft was enacted in 1977 as a means for players who, for a variety of reasons, would not be returning to the NCAA and had missed the deadline to apply for the main NFL draft. Since then, 46 players have been selected, with one being handed a suspension to begin his NFL career: former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

After three years commanding the Buckeyes’ offense from 2008 to ’10, the NCAA ruled that Pryor and four teammates would be suspended for the first five games of the ’11 season for their connection to a signed memorabilia scandal. The quarterback would eventually withdraw from the university in June 2011. He entered the NFL’s supplemental draft and was selected by the Raiders with a third-round pick. His five-game suspension was then unprecedentedly carried over by the NFL to begin the 2011 season, with Goodell ruling Pryor had made a “calculated effort to manipulate [the league’s] eligibility rules in a way that undermines the integrity of, and public confidence in, those rules.”

The NFL’s most recent supplemental draft pick was safety Jalen Thompson, whom the NCAA deemed ineligible for his final season at Washington State due to a violation stemming from a purchase of an over-the-counter supplement at a nutrition store. He was selected by the Cardinals with a third-round pick in the 2019 supplemental draft, and entered the league scot-free.

That said, given the severity of Sorby’s situation—not just that he was gambling on sports, but specifically on his own team, an act that’s typically been grounds for banishment—it’s fair to assume that the NFL, with sports betting becoming an increasing concern at the professional level, will look to enact some sort of punishment on him.

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