In a move widely praised within sports media, the NFL has informed its 32 teams and Texas Tech's exiled quarterback Brendan Sorsby that the league will not hold a supplemental draft this year, meaning Sorsby is ineligible to enter the league in 2026.
According to NFL.com, citing NFL Network reporting by Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, the current collective bargaining agreement allows the league to decide whether or not to hold a supplemental draft.
"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 NFL's management council said in a letter to Sorsby, obtained by Rapoport. "Your Petition — filed three business days before the deadline, without any supporting information or documentation, and only after abandoning your recent litigation efforts to avoid NCAA sanctions — does not provide a basis for the League to alter those plans. 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."
As pointed out by NFL.com's Eric Edholm, the NCAA had deemed Sorsby ineligible to play collegiate football in 2026, with court records showing that Sorsby had acknowledged making thousands of bets worth at least $90,000 while a student-athlete for two years each at Indiana (including a redshirt freshman season) and Cincinnati and as he sought a fifth season of eligibility at Texas Tech. He admitted himself into a residential treatment program for gambling addiction in April.
Related: Sorsby Enters Supplemental Draft, Parts Ways With Texas Tech
A temporary injunction granted June 8 would have allowed him to serve a two-game suspension and take the field this season, but Sorsby eventually dropped his lawsuit amid legal action by the Big 12 Conference, and decided instead to pursue entry in the supplemental draft.
