Brendan Sorsby Gets Landmark News Regarding College Football Future
Texas Tech and quarterback Brendan Sorsby got some good - and probably unexpected - news on Monday when he was awarded a temporary injection against the NCAA that will allow him to play during the 2026 college football season, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.
The news comes as a bit of a shock to fans who expected Sorsby to be permanently banned by the NCAA after admitting to gambling on college football and checking himself into a treatment program for gambling addiction back in April.
The 22-year-old signal caller was expected to enter the NFL's supplemental draft as a result of losing his college eligibility, but now he doesn't have to.
"This court finds that applicant has demonstrated that he will suffer a probable, imminent, and irreparable injury if this court does not issue this temporary injunction because he will be unable to participate as a member of Texas Tech University's 2026 football team," the injunction reads.
As part of the ruling, Sorsby will serve a two-game suspension to start the season, meaning he'll miss games against Abilene Christian (Sept. 5) and Oregon State (Sept. 12) and Texas Tech will likely either start Will Hammond or Mitch Griffis in his place.
After the Sorsby news broke, the NCAA released a statement admonishing the decision and the potential Pandora's box it could open for future gambling cases in college football.
"The NCAA strongly disagrees with the court's ruling in Sorsby’s case and is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of this outcome - which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports," the NCAA said in a statement.
"The NCAA is committed to supporting student-athlete mental health but must continue to aggressively defend against actions that defraud college athletics and threaten competitive integrity, such as betting on one’s own sport."
Monday’s ruling could prove to be a slippery slope for the NCAA because it establishes a precedent for a player to bet on his own team - or college football itself - and continue playing after receiving only a slap on the wrist.
Had Sorsby entered the supplemental draft, several teams were rumored to be interested in him including the Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, and New York Jets.
Many scouts and analysts projected him to be an early-to-mid second-round pick (any team that drafted Sorsby would have to surrender a pick in that same round in the 2027 NFL draft).
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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 1:26 PM.