In deciding not to hold a supplemental draft following Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby‘s application, the NFL didn’t quite slam the door shut on Sorsby’s ability to play football in 2026, but it did significantly limit his options for doing so. As the self-proclaimed recovering gambling addict attempts to make his way back to the field, he only has a few avenues left available to him.
In an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network detailed the possibilities. The first real option for Sorsby is to not accept the league’s decision and to argue his case for the supplemental draft. As Peliserro understands it, the CBA gives the league the power to decide whether or not to hold the supplemental draft. Per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, though, Sorsby’s attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, told the network that “it is a violation of the CBA and law” to not hold a supplemental draft.
In response to the release of the NFL’s letter detailing its reasoning for not holding the supplemental draft, Kessler released a statement on he and Sorsby’s side of the story. The statement (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk) claimed that Sorsby’s team inquired with the league in late April about what was needed to gain entry into the supplemental draft, and the league responded that the application needed to be submitted prior to June 22 with no indications 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.”
Kessler went on to describe the supplemental draft application as a document that “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?’” Kessler’s statement claims that Sorsby’s agent, Ron Slavin, followed up with the league office to inquire if anything else was needed or if any other questions could be answered, and the league declined the opportunity. He then says the NFL released the letter denying Sorsby’s entry to the media before providing it to anyone in Sorsby’s corner.
Kessler then pledged to pursue the matter with the NFL Players Association. Florio believes this would put the NFLPA in an awkward spot as Sorsby is not yet a member of the union. Florio ventures that the NFLPA has an obligation not to back Sorsby as doing so would mean a player currently represented by the union as an active member of an NFL team’s 90-man roster would be losing their job as a result.
Pelissero’s second realistic option for Sorsby is for him to stay in Texas and use the time available to him to train and prepare for the 2027 NFL Draft. Currently, it’s reported that Sorsby is still training and preparing as if he is working up to the pro day he had planned for July 10. But, if no supplemental draft is going to occur, there would be no reason for Sorsby to go through with a pro day, which may suggest that the quarterback intends to fight the NFL’s decision.
Pelissero didn’t see any other options available to Sorsby as realistic or advantageous. If he really wanted to play, he could still do so in professional leagues that aren’t the NFL or scholastic leagues that aren’t the NCAA. Those scholastic options would require him to transfer to a junior college or NAIA program. Former Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers took this route after he was indicted on records of tampering charges for underage gambling online. He spent his final season at Iowa Western Community College and went undrafted in 2025.
The realistic pro options available to Sorsby would only be the UFL and CFL. The UFL’s season just ended, though, and wouldn’t start up again until March. While he would get a chance to advertise his talents before the NFL’s next draft, the timing of the alternative league’s season would either force him to leave his UFL club midseason or miss early offseason work with his new NFL team, should he get drafted. The CFL’s season just started, so Sorsby would be playing catchup while trying to learn the unique difference in the northern league’s rules if he pursued that route.
When Sorsby’s scandal first dropped, it seemed that several avenues remained open for him to explore as he attempted to find the path of least resistance. After the Red Raiders reportedly nudged him away from one path that seemed to be working, the NFL has attempted to bar him from another. Sorsby is starting to run out of options, and he’ll have to consider his remaining choices carefully as legal costs have surely piled up and continued fighting will only require more spending.
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