Brendan Sorsby was on course to participate in the supplemental draft as his means of entering the NFL in 2026. That will not be taking place, however.
The NFL announced on Tuesday that the supplemental draft will not be held in 2026. As a result, Sorsby will not be able to turn pro this summer. The embattled Texas Tech quarterback will instead be eligible for the traditional NFL draft in April 2027.
A letter addressed to Sorsby from the NFL’s management council (h/t NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport) details the league’s reasoning for this decision. It reads in part:
“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… 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.
“… 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.”
Sorsby spent time this spring in a rehab facility for treatment of a gambling addiction. That has been followed by a lengthy, controversy-filled saga over his NCAA eligibility. Attempts to be granted eligibility for 2026 fell short at first, although a surprise injunction against the NCAA seemed to put Sorsby on track to play for the Red Raiders this fall. Sorsby’s attorneys later dropped their suit against the NCAA with attention turning to entry into the NFL, although today’s news means that will not be possible.
The NFL cancelling its supplemental draft has become an annual trend; no one has been selected in that midsummer event since the Cardinals chose Jalen Thompson in 2019. But Sorsby was poised to revive the event. Instead, he will reside in limbo as a result of the league’s decision Tuesday.
More to come…
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