The NFL declines Brendan Sorsby’s supplemental draft request

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CINCINNATI, OHIO - OCTOBER 25: Brendan Sorsby #2 of the Cincinnati Bearcats drops back to pass during the first quarter against the Baylor Bears at Nippert Stadium on October 25, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who was banned from the NCAA after a record of gambling on his own team dating back to his days as a backup at Indiana was discovered, applied for the NFL’s supplemental draft a couple of weeks ago after he ended a series of legal challenges against the NCAA. On Tuesday, though, the NFL announced that it wouldn’t have a supplemental draft this year (the league’s last supplemental draft choice was Jalen Thompson in 2019), meaning that Brendan Sorsby will have to wait until the 2027 draft to enter the NFL.

While the NFL probably couldn’t ban Sorsby from the sport outright, as the league functionally operates as the entire professional football market in the country and hasn’t been granted antitrust exemptions like Major League Baseball has, the league can decide when to hold the supplemental draft on its own discretion.

Here’s the NFL’s letter to Brendan Sorsby, informing him it is declining his petition to enter the supplemental draft, which will not be held this year. pic.twitter.com/Tfoei8fCjp

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) June 23, 2026

Below is the full text that the NFL sent Sorby about his petition being declined:

We are in receipt of your Petition for Special Eligibility, dated June 16, 2026 (“Petition”). As announced earlier today, the League has elected not to conduct a Supplemental Draft this year.

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 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.

The sole reasons identified in your Petition for seeking entry into the Supplemental Draft are that you have been “declared ineligible” by the NCAA, have “exhausted all of [your] avenues to continue in the NCAA,” and “want to now play in the NFL.” The Petition provides no information regarding the basis for, or timing of, the NCAA’s decision. Public sources, however, indicate that in May 2026 the NCAA issued a determination declaring you permanently ineligible from participation in college athletics, based on a sustained pattern of improper gambling activity during your collegiate career at three different universities.

The League does not have the complete record of the NCAA’s investigation, and you did not provide any such materials with your Petition. Available information nonetheless indicates that, over the course of your collegiate career, you knowingly engaged in repeated and significant violations of NCAA rules designed to preserve the integrity of athletic competition. Reported conduct includes placing wagers on your own team and teammates and, to avoid detection, establishing or funding accounts in the names of intermediaries who placed bets on your behalf. There are also reports that you may have violated state criminal law.

Your Petition does not address these matters. Nor does it demonstrate accountability for your conduct or indicate whether, or how, you would adhere to the League’s rules and policies governing the integrity of competition. Instead, even after receiving notice of the NCAA’s decision rescinding your college eligibility in May, you sought to avoid the consequences of that determination through litigation rather than accepting responsibility for your actions, and you pursued entry into the NFL only after abandoning those efforts.

As Commissioner Goodell has emphasized, participation in the NFL is a privilege that carries with it significant responsibilities, including accountability. By all accounts, you are a talented player with the potential for future success. We encourage you to focus on preparing for possible entry into the NFL through the 2027 NFL Annual Draft.

Sorsby’s camp appears to want to fight this in court, as the quarterback’s attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, has stated, “It is a violation of the CBA and the law. We will pursue this immediately with the NFLPA,” to ESPN. Notably, Jeffrey Kessler has previously represented the NFLPA in the past and has won in court against the league in “Deflategate” and “Bountygate” lawsuits.

Update:

Below is a statement from Sorsby’s attorney, Jeffery Kessler, about the NFL’s decision:

In late April, we inquired with the NFL about the process for gaining entry into the Supplemental Draft. The response from the League was that all that was required was a short application, which needed to be submitted prior to June 22. At no point did the NFL indicate that it would need or want to review anything other than the application itself or that submitting the application at or close to the deadline would have any impact on the NFL’s consideration.

Last week, we requested the NFL’s supplemental draft application. The application asked for basic biographical information, responses to four yes-or-no questions and included a small space for Mr. Sorsby to state “why are you applying for the 2026 Supplemental Draft?” It did not provide an opportunity or ask that Mr. Sorsby submit any additional documentation or information. Mr. Sorsby fully completed the application and submitted it to the NFL within hours of receiving it.

Mr. Sorsby’s agent followed up with the NFL to ask if any additional information was needed or if the NFL had any questions. The NFL declined that invitation.

The NFL gave its letter purporting to deny Mr. Sorsby entry to the Supplemental Draft to the media before sending it to Mr. Sorsby. He learned that the NFL was not planning to hold a Supplemental Draft when the media reported it.

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