Steelers' Brendan Sorsby Chase Comes to Shocking End

There's yet another huge twist in the Brendan Sorsby saga for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the NFL will not hold a supplemental draft this summer. As a result, Sorsby will not be eligible to join the league for the 2026 campaign.

Just in: NFL is declining to hold a supplemental draft this summer, currently leaving the 2027 Draft as the only way for QB Brendan Sorsby to enter the NFL.

A letter is being sent to Sorsby, and to all 32 NFL teams, to inform them of the league’s decision.

The league continues… pic.twitter.com/1rwIunWLml
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 23, 2026

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport revealed the letter that the NFL's Council Management Council sent to Sorbsy after denying his Petition for Special Eligibility, which included the following reasoning.

"Under our Collective Bargaining Agreement, the League retains sole discretion to determine whether it is appropriate to conduct a Supplemental Draft in any given year," the letter reads, per Rapoport. "The League has not conducted such a draft for several years and, prior to your submission, the League had no plans to do so this year, as no other player has sought entry. Your Petition—filed three business days before the deadline, without any supporting information or documentation, and only after abandoning your recent litigation efforts to avoid NCAA sanctions—does not provide a basis for the League to alter those plans. The issues presented by your Petition are too significant, and too closely tied to the League’s core integrity interests, to permit meaningful review within the timeline presented."

Brendan Sorsby runs with the ball during the Texas Tech football team's spring game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What This Means for the Steelers

Sorsby's entire situation has been a complete rollercoaster amidst an investigation into his alleged gambling, which reportedly involving placing wagers on Indiana football games while he was a member of the program.

After spending the past two years at Cincinnati and transferring to Texas Tech this offseason, Sorsby was deemed ineligible by the NCAA before being granted a temporary injunction by a Texas judge that essentially reversed that ruling and would've allowed him to play collegiately in 2026.

Texas Tech and Sorsby later parted ways due to a wave of backlash, leading the 22-year-old to apply for the supplemental draft. Now, however, he'll have to enter the 2027 NFL Draft and wait it out before trying to break into the league.

The Steelers profiled as a potential suitor for Sorsby and were reportedly doing research on him due to their lack of a long-term solution at quarterback despite selecting Will Howard and Drew Allar in the past two drafts.

Regardless of how Sorsby proceeds, whether it's looking to go back to college or joining another professional league, Pittsburgh will now have more time to explore his case before potentially looking into him as an option in next year's draft.

For the 2026 season, everything remains status quo for the Steelers: Aaron Rodgers will start at quarterback and Drew Allar will likely serve as the No. 3 option at the position while Will Howard and Mason Rudolph battle it out for the backup job in training camp and the preseason.

Sorsby is certainly talented, but he's no longer as enticing of an option for Pittsburgh now that it doesn't have a unique opportunity to land him next month. The 2027 signal caller class is rather stacked, and the organization has a slew of other prospects worth considering that are at a similar or higher level in terms of their talent with far less baggage off the field.

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