Wetzel: NFL's denial of Sorsby sends the right mes...

Dan WetzelJun 23, 2026, 06:30 PM ET

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Dan Wetzel is a senior writer focused on investigative reporting, news analysis and feature storytelling.

The NFL announced it will not hold a supplemental draft this year, effectively denying Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby's attempt to skirt NCAA punishment for gambling violations by jumping immediately to the pros.

The move does what a Texas judge should have done last month: make it clear to Sorsby, and every college athlete tempted by the latest promo code, that there is no leniency when it comes to competitive integrity issues.

College athletics is an opportunity -- one that comes with not just fame, fanfare and scholarships but potentially millions in earnings.

With that comes an obligation to uphold the basic tenets of the operation -- in this case, not hitting some gambling app that makes the public question the validity of the action. And if you get caught, you can't just slither off to the NFL.

"As Commissioner [Roger] Goodell has emphasized, participation in the NFL is a privilege that carries with it significant responsibilities, including accountability," reads a letter to Sorsby from Larry Ferazani, general counsel of the NFL Management Council, obtained by ESPN.

It's a fair tradeoff. A necessary tradeoff. And it's a tradeoff the NFL is making Sorsby adhere to by telling him he can't enter the league until the 2027 draft.

That should serve as a powerful reminder to every NFL prospect (or those eyeing the NBA, NHL, MLB and so on) that sports wagering can bring significant repercussions.

This spring, the NCAA permanently stripped Sorsby of his eligibility after the 22-year-old admitted to betting some 9,000 times over the past four years while a member of the Indiana, Cincinnati and, since January, Texas Tech programs. That included at least 40 bets on the Hoosiers while he was part of that team.

All of this was a clear violation of the NCAA's written statutes, precedents and repeated educational efforts.

That seemed like the end until Judge Ken Curry, ruling out of Lubbock County, stunningly granted Sorsby a temporary injunction against the NCAA. Sorsby had argued a banishment would negatively impact his mental health and that he shouldn't be punished for a medical condition (his gambling addiction).

The ruling would have likely allowed him to play out the 2026 college season. As a by-product, the NCAA became the only sports governing organization on earth that was incapable of banning players for sports wagering.

An intense backlash ensued, including sternly worded letters from dueling state attorneys general, the Big 12 Conference asking a federal court for a declaratory judgment to issue its own punishment and threats of a scheduling ban against all Red Raiders teams.

Eventually, Tech backed down, and Sorsby, in an effort to get on the field this fall, asked the NFL to hold its first supplemental draft since 2023.

Only the NFL wouldn't play.

"Under our Collective Bargaining Agreement, the League retains sole discretion to determine whether it is appropriate to conduct a Supplemental Draft in any given year," the league wrote. "Your Petition -- filed three business days before the deadline, without any supporting information or documentation ... does not provide a basis for the League to alter those plans ...

"The sole reasons identified ... are that you have been 'declared ineligible' by the NCAA, have 'exhausted all of [your] avenues to continue in the NCAA,' and 'want to now play in the NFL,'" the letter continued.

Sorsby's attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, told ESPN that the decision to not hold the supplemental draft actually violates the NFL's "CBA and the law."

"We will pursue this immediately with the NFLPA," Kessler said.

Of course. When it comes to this case, billable hours are as undefeated as the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

Legality aside, in general terms, the NFL is correct here, even if its grandstanding on sports wagering is eyeroll-inducing. This is a league, after all, that partnered with sportsbooks until this year, allows owners to hold up to a 5% investment in sportsbooks and has a partnership to provide its game data to media companies and sports betting operators.

As morality police go, the NFL is compromised, like all sports leagues and media partners that have their own similar business ties to sports betting.

Still, even the league understands the danger in empowering players who get caught betting on their team's own games by offering an easy off-ramp.

If nothing else, the NFL had little interest in being handed this mess or pretending that a 35-day in-patient treatment session and a pinkie swear to never do it again meant everything was cool.

"Your Petition does not ... demonstrate accountability for your conduct or indicate whether, or how, you would adhere to the League's rules and policies governing the integrity of competition," the letter from the NFL reads. "Instead, even after receiving notice of the NCAA's decision rescinding your college eligibility in May, you sought to avoid the consequences of that determination through litigation rather than accepting responsibility for your actions."

Here's hoping instead that the NFL's decision stands, if only for who else might hear it. If betting on your own team isn't a third rail kind of issue, then everyone is in trouble.