In deciding not to carry 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, nevertheless it did significantly limit his options for doing so. Because the self-proclaimed recovering gambling addict attempts to make his way back to the sector, he only has a number of avenues left available to him.
In an appearance on the Wealthy Eisen Show, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network detailed the probabilities. The primary 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 ability to make a decision whether or not to carry the supplemental draft. Per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, though, Sorsby’s attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, told the network that “it’s a violation of the CBA and law” to not hold a supplemental draft.
In response to the discharge of the NFL’s letter detailing its reasoning for not holding the supplemental draft, Kessler released a press release 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 achieve entry into the supplemental draft, and the league responded that the appliance needed to be submitted prior to June 22 with no indications that “it could need or need to review anything apart from the appliance itself or that submitting the appliance at or near the deadline would have any impact on the NFL’s consideration.”
Kessler went on to explain the supplemental draft application as a document that “asked for basic biographical information, responses to 4 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 the rest was needed or if some other questions could possibly be answered, and the league declined the chance. 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 could put the NFLPA in an ungainly spot as Sorsby is just not yet a member of the union. Florio ventures that the NFLPA has an obligation to not back Sorsby as doing so would mean a player currently represented by the union as an energetic member of an NFL team’s 90-man roster can be losing their job because of this.
Pelissero’s second realistic option for Sorsby is for him to remain in Texas and use the time available to him to coach and prepare for the 2027 NFL Draft. Currently, it’s reported that Sorsby continues to be training and preparing as if he’s working as much as the professional day he had planned for July 10. But, if no supplemental draft goes to occur, there can be no reason for Sorsby to undergo with a professional day, which can suggest that the quarterback intends to fight the NFL’s decision.
Pelissero didn’t see some other options available to Sorsby as realistic or advantageous. If he really desired to play, he could still achieve this in skilled 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 initiate again until March. While he would get a likelihood to advertise his talents before the NFL’s next draft, the timing of the choice league’s season would either force him to depart his UFL club midseason or miss early offseason work along with his latest NFL team, should he get drafted. The CFL’s season just began, so Sorsby can be playing catchup while attempting to learn the unique difference within 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 seek out the trail of least resistance. After the Red Raiders reportedly nudged him away from one path that appeared to be working, the NFL has attempted to bar him from one other. Sorsby is beginning to run out of options, and he’ll have to contemplate his remaining decisions rigorously as legal costs have surely piled up and continued fighting will only require more spending.