{"id":740465,"date":"2026-06-16T16:10:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T16:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/740465\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T16:10:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T16:10:15","slug":"could-brendan-sorsbys-nfl-career-begin-with-a-suspension-heres-what-history-tells-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/740465\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Brendan Sorsby\u2019s NFL Career Begin With a Suspension? Here\u2019s What History Tells Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brendan Sorsby\u2019s college football career is over<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After a Lubbock County judge granted the star quarterback an injunction last week that would allow him to play for Texas Tech in 2026 amid his ongoing sports betting scandal, a hectic week-plus in college sports ensued<\/a>, and Sorsby then announced on Monday night that he is instead planning to apply for the NFL\u2019s supplemental draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A quick synopsis<\/a>: Sorsby checked into rehab in late April for a gambling addiction and was ruled ineligible by the NCAA on May 18 while it investigated him for allegedly making \u201cthousands\u201d of bets on college sports<\/a>. Sorsby later admitted to the activity in a telling affidavit in which he also revealed that he had placed at least 40 wagers involving his own team at the time, Indiana.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old then applied for reinstatement and was denied, and Texas Tech\u2019s subsequent appeal was also rejected. Three days later, however, the aforementioned injunction granted by Texas judge Ken Curry<\/a> restored Sorsby\u2019s eligibility and levied just a two-game suspension, which was recommended by the quarterback\u2019s own attorneys.<\/p>\n

The lawless body that is college sports\u2014and specifically football\u2014has since been stirred into a frenzy, with programs threatening to boycott playing the Red Raiders<\/a> and the Big 12 going to federal court in an attempt to overrule Curry\u2019s injunction. The ongoing legal battle seemingly forced a decision from Sorsby, and in a statement on Monday night<\/a>, Texas Tech board of regents chairman Cody Campbell announced that the signal-caller would \u201cnot be a part of [the university\u2019s] football team this fall,\u201d and instead planned to apply for the NFL\u2019s supplemental draft. Sorsby himself then put out a statement<\/a> that said, \u201cI am grateful for the support from my family, my Tech coaching staff, teammates, the community, and so many others who have encouraged me to address and learn more about this important issue. As my journey continues, I remain fully committed to and focused on being the best I can be, both on and off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE: 5 NFL Teams That Should Consider Bidding on Brendan Sorsby in a Potential Supplemental Draft<\/a><\/p>\n

Now, as Sports Illustrated\u2019s own Pat Forde put it in his latest column<\/a>, the hot potato that is Sorsby has now been thrown into the hands of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell & Co., which raises the question: could the quarterback be handed a punishment at the professional level?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what history tells us.<\/p>\n

Brendan Sorsby could face a suspension to begin his NFL career\"Brendan<\/p>\n

Brendan Sorsby plans to apply for the NFL’s supplemental draft. | Nathan Giese\/Avalanche-Journal \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The NFL\u2019s supplemental draft<\/a> was enacted in 1977 as a means for players who, for a variety of reasons, would not be returning to the NCAA and had missed the deadline to apply for the main NFL draft. Since then, 46 players have been selected, with one being handed a suspension to begin his NFL career: former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor.<\/p>\n

After three years commanding the Buckeyes\u2019 offense from 2008 to \u201910, the NCAA ruled that Pryor and four teammates would be suspended for the first five games of the \u201911 season for their connection to a signed memorabilia scandal. The quarterback would eventually withdraw from the university in June 2011. He entered the NFL\u2019s supplemental draft and was selected by the Raiders with a third-round pick. His five-game suspension was then unprecedentedly carried over by the NFL to begin the 2011 season, with Goodell ruling Pryor had made a \u201ccalculated effort to manipulate [the league\u2019s] eligibility rules in a way that undermines the integrity of, and public confidence in, those rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NFL\u2019s most recent supplemental draft pick was safety Jalen Thompson, whom the NCAA deemed ineligible for his final season at Washington State due to a violation stemming from a purchase of an over-the-counter supplement at a nutrition store. He was selected by the Cardinals with a third-round pick in the 2019 supplemental draft, and entered the league scot-free.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That said, given the severity of Sorby\u2019s situation\u2014not just that he was gambling on sports, but specifically on his own team, an act that\u2019s typically been grounds for banishment\u2014it\u2019s fair to assume that the NFL, with sports betting becoming an increasing concern at the professional level<\/a>, will look to enact some sort of punishment on him.<\/p>\n

More NFL from Sports Illustrated\"\"Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brendan Sorsby\u2019s college football career is over. After a Lubbock County judge granted the star quarterback an injunction…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":740466,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,593,85],"class_list":["post-740465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=740465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/740466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=740465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=740465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=740465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}