Brendan Sorsby is expected to continuing training for the 2027 NFL Draft in Dallas, but will be welcomed back around the Texas Tech football team “whenever he wants,” Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire told NBC’s Nicole Auerbach on Tuesday. Sorsby opted to drop all legal challenges last week and will instead focus on next year’s draft after reaching a settlement with the NFL a week after the league formally denied his petition to enter its supplemental draft.
A return to Lubbock seemed in doubt as recently as last month given statements by Texas Tech officials, including billionaire booster and board chairman Cody Campbell, who made it clear “Brendan Sorsby will not be a part of the Texas Tech football team this Fall” in a statement announcing the team’s split with its $5 million quarterback June 15. In the same statement, Campbell said the program will not seek NIL reimbursement from Sorsby, writing: “Texas Tech will not seek return of any amounts already paid to Brendan through his NIL agreements.”
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Sorsby announced his intention to part ways with Texas Tech late June 15, one week after a retired Texas state judge granted him a temporary injunction that restored his collegiate eligibility after the NCAA declared him ineligible for notorious sports gambling. The 22-year-old Sorsby admitted placing thousands of bets totaling more than $90,000 over a four-year period between 2022-26, including more than 40 wagers on Indiana football games in 2022 when he was a freshman reserve with the Hoosiers. Those betting activities carried over to his time at Cincinnati, which was reportedly notified of Sorsby’s gambling proclivities in Aug. 2025, according to USA Today’s Matt Hayes.
The NFL rejected Sorsby’s petition to enter its supplemental draft and directly cited his admitted and repeated gambling activities that led to the NCAA’s permanent eligibility ban in May.
“Your Petition does not address these matters. Nor does it demonstrate accountability for your conduct or indicate whether, or how, you would adhere to the League’s rules and policies governing the integrity of competition,” the NFL’s letter to Sorsby read. “Instead, 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.”
Texas Tech representatives have remained supportive of Sorsby, including during his legal battle with the NCAA, and has promised to continue to provide institutional assistance through the school’s Center for Students in Addiction Recovery (CSAR) program that delivers outpatient clinical care and treatment. That’s in addition to the stability and structure Sorsby could receive just by being around the Red Raiders football program. Texas Tech president Lawrence Schovanec confirmed such school-sponsored support for Sorsby’s recovery in a letter to the fan base after the NCAA denied his eligibility late last month.
That support sparked outrage and pushback from across the college football world, especially within the Big 12 where rival athletic directors called for the conference to sanction Texas Tech. The Big 12 filed a legal complaint in federal court last Monday seeking clarification regarding its ability to enforce its bylaws after Texas state attorney general Ken Paxton threatened the league with legal action should it choose to sanction the Red Raiders. The Big 12’s legal play prompted a reconsideration of events from Texas Tech, which subsequently informed Sorsby of their decision to not play him in 2026 leading to his NFL petition.