Brendan Sorsby drops fight with NFL, will enter 2027 draft

And now, at last, the Brendan Sorsby saga that occupied so much of our air space* is at an end. For now. We think.

(* Hard to believe, but Judge Ken Curry granted Sorsby's injunction and kicked off this whole firestorm just three weeks ago Monday.)

On Tuesday, the former Indiana, Cincinnati, and would-be Texas Tech quarterback announced in a social media post he will not pursue a legal fight with the NFL and instead sit out the 2026 season and prepare for the 2027 NFL Draft while spending the interim time focusing on his recovery. "I did not have control of my gambling problem and it took getting caught for me to realize that, but it was truly the best thing that could have happened to me," Sorsby said. "Because of this, I have been able to get the help I need and fully focus on my recovery."

In a subsequent memo, the NFL announced to its teams that Sorsby holds a "Draft Eligible" designation, and thus cannot be signed as a free agent, but the league reserves the right to conduct further investigations and to levy a suspension against him once he is drafted next spring.

As we wrote last week when the CFL barred Sorsby from entry, the quarterback's relationship to accountability was paradoxical: the harder he and his camp fought to avoid it, the more of it he got. It was Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's threat to the Big 12 that opened the door for the conference to file a federal lawsuit that effectively pushed Sorsby out of Texas Tech. Many interpreted the NFL's surprising move last week as the league rendering the suspension the NCAA was not legally allowed to enforce. In fighting the NCAA's original suspension in court, Sorsby lost all the money he'd made as a Red Raider to that point, according to his agent. 

And so now that Sorsby is standing down in his possible fight to force the NFL to allow him in -- which would be the ultimate "win the battle, lose the war" move, if it was even successful -- it would be a surprise that, barring any criminal charges or further revelations, the NFL rendered any further judgment against him next spring.

Remember, even if Sorsby successfully sued his way onto the field, that victory would have brought about an even bigger challenge than recovering from his gambling addiction. He would have been under immense pressure -- from the public, from opposing fans, from himself to deliver for Texas Tech. There's a pretty good chance such pressure would have negatively affected his performance, which in turn would have further damaged his mental health, and on the carousel turns. Now, Sorsby can lay low, focus on his recovery, and pursue a professional career out of the limelight.

And, hopefully, this is the last time we have to talk about this for the next eight months or so. That's an outcome we can all be happy with.