Brendan Sorsby is moving on to 2027.
The NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams on Tuesday informing them that Sorsby, a quarterback whose college career ended when the NCAA banished him for gambling activity that included wagers on his own team while on the roster at Indiana in 2022 and betting on pro sports, will not seek legal action against the NFL after the league denied his petition to enter the supplemental draft.
“I accept 100% responsibility for my actions,” Sorsby posted on Instagram on Tuesday evening. “I did not have control of my gambling problem and it took getting caught to realize that, but it was truly the best thing that could have happened to me.”
Sorsby, who moved from Indiana to Cincinnati to Texas Tech before revelations about an extensive gambling problem surfaced, tried to enter the draft just three days before the scheduled deadline. The league, which hasn’t held a supplemental draft since 2023 and hasn’t had a player selected in it since 2019, denied the petition.
“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,” NFL attorney Lawrence P. Ferazani Jr. wrote in a letter to Sorsby last week.
The 22-year-old Sorsby, who cannot play in the Canadian Football League in 2026, is now considered “draft-eligible” for the 2027 NFL draft. Sorsby will not be eligible to sign an NFL contract until the draft’s conclusion.
The NFL has no plans to discipline Sorsby for any currently known prior misconduct but holds the right to investigate Sorsby. The league can also take Sorsby’s college misconduct into account should it find cause to discipline Sorsby in the future.
Sorsby’s decision to not challenge the NFL in court leaves him with 10 months on his hands to prepare. Sorsby had planned to play at Texas Tech this year before the NCAA declared him ineligible for making thousands of bets on sporting events worth at least $90,000 during his college career. Those included at least 40 bets on Indiana while he was a freshman there in 2022, though none on the games in which he played for the Hoosiers that season.
“I am fully committed to being the best version of myself that I can be while getting ready for the 2027 draft,” Sorsby wrote. “God makes no mistakes and I look forward to seeing the good that is to come from this.”
Reporting by the Associated Press.
