{"id":277446,"date":"2026-05-03T20:16:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T20:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/277446\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T20:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T20:16:09","slug":"texas-tech-qbs-gambling-saga-now-features-tom-bradys-deflategate-lawyer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/277446\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Tech QB\u2019s gambling saga now features Tom Brady\u2019s Deflategate lawyer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby\u2019s NCAA<\/a> gambling situation just took a significant legal turn.<\/p>\n

Sorsby has reportedly hired<\/a> high-profile sports attorney Jeffrey Kessler as he attempts to preserve his college eligibility amid an NCAA investigation into alleged sports betting activity.<\/p>\n

If Kessler’s name sounds familiar to sports fans, it should.<\/p>\n

Kessler represented Tom Brady<\/a> during Deflategate and was the lead attorney in the House v. NCAA case that helped push college sports into its current revenue-sharing era. Now, he appears to be involved in one of the strangest eligibility fights college football has ever seen.<\/p>\n

\"Jeffrey <\/p>\n

Jeffrey Kessler, attorney for the NFL Players Association, leaves NFL headquarters in New York City on June 23, 2015. Kessler was there regarding Tom Brady’s appeal of a four-game suspension for the 2015 season related to deflated footballs used in games the previous season. (Andrew Burton\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

OutKick previously reported that sources around the situation believe there\u2019s a strong chance Sorsby could be declared ineligible for the 2026 season<\/a>, depending on the NCAA\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n

Sorsby isn’t pretending that he doesn’t have a gambling problem or that he didn’t bet on sports. The quarterback recently checked himself into a gambling addiction treatment program.<\/p>\n

TEXAS TECH QB BRENDAN SORSBY ENTERING TREATMENT FOR GAMBLING ADDICTION AMID NCAA INVESTIGATION<\/a><\/p>\n

But the investigation centers, in part, on whether Sorsby placed bets while he was on Indiana\u2019s roster in 2022. He redshirted that season but did appear in one game, although there’s no evidence he wagered on the one game he played.<\/p>\n

The NCAA has taken a hardline stance on athletes betting on their own<\/a> school\u2019s games, regardless of whether the bet is on the team to win or if the player participates in the game. Under 2023 guidelines, that can lead to permanent loss of eligibility.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where the Kessler hire makes things quite interesting.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t just a Texas Tech football<\/a> problem or an NCAA gambling investigation anymore. It\u2019s now potentially a courtroom fight over whether one of the most expensive quarterbacks in the transfer portal can play this season. The result could have major ramifications moving forward, as the proliferation of legalized gambling across the United States makes these situations much more likely to happen again.<\/p>\n

\"Brendan <\/p>\n

Quarterback Brendan Sorsby transferred from Cincinnati to Texas Tech, but faces an uncertain future as he battles the NCAA over eligibility related to sports betting. (Dylan Buell\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

And if the NCAA ends up across from Kessler again, it knows exactly who it\u2019s dealing with.<\/p>\n

Kessler was central to House v. NCAA, the landmark case that helped force the NCAA and major conferences into a settlement that opened the door for schools to directly share revenue with athletes. In other words, one of the lawyers who helped upend the old college sports model could now be trying to keep Sorsby eligible under the new one.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s quite a twist.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE<\/a><\/p>\n

Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech after playing at Cincinnati, and OutKick previously reported the Red Raiders were set to pay him upward of $5 million<\/a> for his time in Lubbock. That made him one of the biggest names in the portal and a potential centerpiece for Joey McGuire\u2019s program in 2026.<\/p>\n

Cincinnati is currently suing Sorsby<\/a> for a $1 million NIL exit fee after his transfer to Texas Tech, and he has filed a motion to dismiss the case.<\/p>\n

Now, Texas Tech may have to wait on the NCAA, Sorsby\u2019s lawyers and possibly a judge before knowing whether its massive investment can actually take the field.<\/p>\n

\"Gambling <\/p>\n

Quarterback Brendan Sorsby transferred from Cincinnati to Texas Tech, but faces an uncertain future as he battles the NCAA over eligibility related to sports betting. (Chris Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

It’s crazy to think that college sports has come to this, but here we are. This is a story that seemed almost unfathomable 10 years ago but now seems almost mundane.<\/p>\n

None of this means Sorsby should avoid punishment if the NCAA proves he violated gambling rules. Sports betting<\/a> by college athletes, especially when it involves their own school, is a serious integrity issue.<\/p>\n

But Kessler\u2019s involvement raises the stakes dramatically.<\/p>\n

If this becomes a legal fight, the NCAA won\u2019t simply be deciding whether Sorsby broke a rule. It could be forced to defend how much power it still has to end a player\u2019s college career in an era where athletes are paid, represented and recruited like professionals.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why this case is bigger than one player or one school.<\/p>\n

OUTKICK IS NOW ON THE FOX APP: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD<\/a><\/p>\n

The quarterback at the center of college football\u2019s strangest offseason story just hired the lawyer from Deflategate.<\/p>\n

The NCAA may have thought it had a simple gambling investigation and eligibility ruling on its hands. Instead, it appears to have a potential major legal fight with one of the most powerful attorneys in the country where the result could affect the future of the organization.<\/p>\n

There’s zero chance that’s the position the NCAA wanted to find itself in.<\/p>\n

Dan Zaksheske is a reporter at OutKick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby\u2019s NCAA gambling situation just took a significant legal turn. Sorsby has reportedly hired…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277447,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1771,4295,97022,27,29,28,415],"class_list":["post-277446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-fb","tag-outkick-sports","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-texas-tech-red-raiders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}