As former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby applies to enter the NFL via its supplemental draft, team officials, talent evaluators and the quarterback himself are all waiting to learn whether the league will grant his request. There’s also curiosity among team employees over whether the NFL will allow Sorsby to take the field right away, or if the league will attempt to levy a suspension on the 22-year-old because of the NCAA violations that made him ineligible to continue his college career.Sorsby was declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA for repeatedly wagering on college and pro sports (including betting on Indiana football games while a member of that team before transferring to Cincinnati and then Texas Tech). A Texas judge on June 8 granted Sorsby a temporary injunction that would have allowed him to still play at Texas Tech this fall. After widespread backlash, though, Sorsby is in the process of withdrawing his lawsuit against the NCAA and instead applying to enter the NFL through the supplemental draft.The supplemental draft is not held every year and is typically used by players who lose college eligibility late in the offseason. No player has been selected in the supplemental draft since 2019.It remains to be seen how the NFL will handle the situation. Among the leading questions: Will the league allow Sorsby — who multiple talent evaluators surmised would have been taken in the first or second rounds of next year’s draft had he not become embroiled in controversy — to enter the supplemental draft? If so, would the NFL look to carry over the punishment that the NCAA leveled at Sorsby and prevent him from playing in the 2026 season?When it comes to the first question, Sorsby — who is three years removed from high school and no longer has college eligibility — seemingly meets the criteria for inclusion in the supplemental draft.According to the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association, “If a player who was not eligible for the Draft in any League Year becomes eligible after the date of the Draft, he will be eligible to be selected in a Supplemental Draft, if the League elects to conduct such a Draft, on or before the seventh calendar day prior to the opening of the first training camp that League Year. No player may elect to bypass a Draft for which he is eligible to apply for selection in a Supplemental Draft. Any Club that selects a player in a Supplemental Draft must forfeit a choice in the same round in the next succeeding principal Draft.”As for the possibility that Sorsby serves a suspension after entering the NFL, two league sources with knowledge of the supplemental draft process and the league’s disciplinary system said they believe it is highly unlikely the league would look to impose the NCAA’s punishment. (They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.)The NFL has previously upheld a college suspension in at least one high-profile instance. In 2011, Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor entered the supplemental draft after a memorabilia-for-cash scandal prompted the NCAA to suspend him for five games. Pryor’s application for the supplemental draft was accepted. The Oakland Raiders landed Pryor with a third-round bid. The NFL required him to miss the first five games of his rookie season because of the NCAA’s punishment, which was announced before the Raiders selected him.Still, that was 15 years ago.More recently, the NFL opted against forcing Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh to serve a suspension in relation to the 10-year show-cause penalty that the NCAA handed down because of Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal that occurred on his watch.Similarly, the NFL opted against punishing New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte after he admitted that while attending and playing for LSU, he suffered from a gambling addiction. Although Boutte faced charges for underage gambling, which were later dismissed, the NFL didn’t punish the wide receiver.If NFL commissioner Roger Goodell did seek to carry over Sorsby’s NCAA punishment to start his pro career after letting Harbaugh slide, the league could be setting itself up for a fight with the NFLPA.Football players become members of the union once they are drafted, whether in the traditional or supplemental draft, or once they sign a free-agent contract. So, Sorsby would have representation available to him — he was represented by prominent sports labor lawyer Jeffrey L. Kessler in his lawsuit against the NCAA — and hypothetically could pursue a grievance against the league to overturn any suspension.A decision on Sorsby’s inclusion in the supplemental draft should come within the next several weeks. According to the timeline laid out in the CBA, a supplemental draft would take place at least seven days before the first training camp opens, which this year is on July 23. A ruling on any disciplinary action could come shortly after.Three talent evaluators predicted that if eligible, Sorsby could go as early as the second or third round of the supplemental draft.Jun 18, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms