Brendan Sorsby is entering the NFL Supplemental Draft. What happens now?
If you’re still confused about everything that’s happened with Texas Tech and quarterback Brendan Sorsby, don’t worry; you’re not alone.
After a winding road that went from his high-profile transfer from Cincinnati to the Red Raiders program this offseason, to the discovery of his gambling activities, so his legal fight to maintain eligibility for the college game, it’s been a lot to track.
The latest turn of events should provide some clarity, though.
After a strong backlash from the Big 12 and other programs within the conference to Sorsby being allowed to play this fall thanks to a court decision, Sorsby will be entering the 2026 NFL Supplemental Draft, per multiple reports.
What does that mean?
The Supplemental Draft, which takes place in July, gives players who have been deemed ineligible to play college football (for any number of reasons), but missed the chance to declare for the regular draft, the opportunity to be selected by any of the NFL’s 32 teams. It doesn’t carry the same kind of fanfare as the regular draft, but every team goes “on the clock” with a chance to spend their pick in each of seven rounds on any player who has declared for the Supplemental Draft. If a team uses one of those picks on a player, they lose their pick in that corresponding round in the following year’s regular draft.
Some years, there aren’t enough players that interest the league to be able to hold a Supplemental Draft. That’s been the case for a while, actually; there hasn’t been a single player chosen that way since 2019. A first-round pick hasn’t been used in the Supplemental Draft since the New York Giants selected Duke quarterback Dave Brown in 1992. The earliest supplemental pick since then? Baylor wide receiver Josh Gordon to the Cleveland Browns in 2012, for which they used a second-rounder.
Sorsby is the rare prospect who will pique enough interest in NFL circles to generate debate as to how early of a pick could be used to select him. Would a team really use their first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft to secure a quarterback with the starting-caliber traits that Sorsby brings to the table?
It seems unlikely, but we’ve seen teams make desperate moves in the past to address the game’s most important position, and there’s no shortage of QB-needy teams across the league right now. Sure, they could bank on what should be an extremely talented 2027 class at the position, but we’ve heard that before in years past, only for many high-profile prospects to fall short of preseason expectations.
There’s no denying Sorsby’s talent, which caught my eye during the 2025 season, when he was putting out some impressive tape for the Bearcats.
The question will be, which team is willing to risk one of their top picks in next year’s draft to get him in their building? If a team doesn’t take him with a first-round pick in the Supplemental Draft, how long will he last until a team makes their move?
This seems like the kind of decision that was made by Sorsby’s camp to avoid a scenario in which the deadline for applying for the Supplemental Draft (June 22nd) had already passed, and a new court decision or other events transpiring at the college level leave him without a place to play at all this fall. There’s still some uncertainty in terms of where he’ll go, but at least there’s a clear direction with the process at this point.
Who know’s what’s going to happen next. The most important thing for Sorsby is to recover and handle things off the field before worrying about being an NFL quarterback. He’s a promising player with a ton of talent, and hopefully, he’ll land in a place that will surround him with everything he needs to live up to his potential, both on and off the field.
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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 6:04 PM.