NO NFL SUPPLEMENTAL DRAFT, PLEASE, AFTER SORSBY LEAVES COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The quarterback’s gambling impulses, which spilled from 2022 into this year at Texas Tech, can't be aided by commissioner Roger Goodell, who should ban an immediate path to support his industry crimes
Gee, a gambling scandal? Shouldn’t NFL teams treat Brendan Sorsby’s life-marring behavior as an earlobe bump, a pinky scab, a sore buttock? Why not select him in the supplemental draft? Give up a third-round pick and secure a skilled quarterback for the future? So what if the kid has gambled more than 9,000 times on sports — including 40 times on Indiana football, when he played there as a freshman — through a wagering whirlwind that took him to Cincinnati and Texas Tech?
Let me prescribe a mental illness.
If you theorize about betting that way, your sickness is what’s ruining the industry. Your team never, ever should draft Sorsby and, for that matter, the NFL should ignore his application — with a Monday deadline — and not allow a draft for his purposes. It was a thrill to see the Big 12 and NCAA move forward against a temporary injunction, which would have allowed him to play this year for the Red Raiders. It then became a cheap shot against the system, that Sorsby and his attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, instantly chose the long-term money route against $6 million of NIL money.
Here is where commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners must say no to the gambler — and gambling in general, despite their twisted TV ads. In due time, if Sorsby continues to control impulses and pursue serious rehabilitation for years, he can seek a path that allows franchises to pick him or choose his own team as a free agent. But to say yes so quickly would serve as a distorted pick-me-up, only because he threw for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns with only five interceptions last year.
Pro football adores quarterbacks. Please, not this one. Imagine Sorsby learning the game with Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh. Imagine him with the Jets, the Dolphins, the Colts, the Cardinals. Imagine him hooking up with Tom Brady in Las Vegas, where he’d seek playing time with Fernando Mendoza, who eventually won a Heisman Trophy and finished 16-0 at Indiana. Those are sentiments floating through the minds of warlords, people who see gambling as a necessary offshoot of Sport In 2026.
Kill their thoughts.
Let Sorsby bleed and consider what he has done over multiple years.
“I am grateful for the support from my family, my Tech coaching staff, teammates, the community, and so many others who have encouraged me to address and learn more about this important issue,” Sorsby said in a statement Monday. “As my journey continues, I remain fully committed to and focused on being the best I can be, both on and off the field.”
Give credit to Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, a former NBA executive, who gathered other universities in that conference to fight Sorsby’s injunction. Said the Big 12 board of directors: “Universities should not field players who have bet on their own team’s games in college athletics.” The NCAA, which finally showed some sort of impetus, demanded resolution from an appeals court. Texas Tech, which never has won a national title, was left to give up while ignoring an attempt by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to keep supporting Sorsby.
“When Brendan’s lawsuit resulted in the granting of a temporary injunction, we found ourselves in a difficult situation,” Texas Tech president Lawrence Schovanec and athletic director Kirby Hocutt said in a Monday statement. “With his health and wellness as our top priority, we supported him in spite of very different perspectives and opinions. Our position was challenged by many but our support for him never changed. We will continue to extend all available resources that Brendan had as a student and athlete to ensure his transition is as successful as possible.”
TCU coach Sonny Dykes wondered last week about Sorsby: “How is anyone ever going to trust the outcome of a game again?” Today, he thanks Yormark. “He showed strong leadership,” he told ESPN. “Appreciate his desire to do what’s best for college football.”
At least one level of football has created some guidance amid disaster. The NFL cannot allow a supplemental draft for a quarterback who reminds, us, comically, of Fred Flintstone in a gambling rage. Let Sorsby sit.
And remove his phone.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.