Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby will take an “immediate indefinite leave of absence” from the football program as he enters a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction, the school announced Monday. The NCAA is investigating Sorsby’s gambling, industry sources told The Athletic.
Sorsby, a fifth-year senior, transferred to Texas Tech in January as one of the most coveted players in the portal after two seasons at Cincinnati. Texas Tech said it is committed to supporting Sorsby through his recovery process, but there is no announced timetable for Sorsby’s treatment or his return to the Red Raiders.
“We love Brendan and support his decision to seek professional help,” coach Joey McGuire said. “Taking this step requires courage, and our primary focus is on him as a person. Our program is behind Brendan as he prioritizes his health.”
Industry sources confirmed an ESPN report saying that Sorsby bet on Indiana football in 2022 while he was a redshirt freshman for the Hoosiers. Sorsby’s gambling continued since then, according to sources, but the full extent is not yet clear.
Industry sources told The Athletic that Sorsby placed a significant number of wagers in recent years — hundreds, maybe thousands. The overwhelming majority were for small dollar amounts on various sports, including live bets at Cincinnati Reds games or on UFC matches, the latter of which is allowable under NCAA rules as long as the athlete is of legal betting age, because UFC is not a sport in which the NCAA hosts a sanctioned championship.
In response to a public records request from The Athletic for items related to Sorsby, the Indiana Gaming Commission said it was withholding responsive documents because of a state law that shields the investigatory records of a law enforcement agency.
According to updated NCAA sports betting guidelines passed in 2023, players who bet on games involving their own school face potential permanent loss of eligibility. That also applies if they engage in activities to influence the outcome or knowingly provide information to people involved in sports betting.
Betting on one’s own sport involving another school could cost a player 50 percent of one season of eligibility. Betting more than $800 on pro sports could cost a player at least 30 percent of a season, with lesser penalties for a lower dollar amount. Last October, all three NCAA divisions passed a rule change allowing players and staff to bet on pro sports, but the rule was rescinded a month later when more than two-thirds of Division I schools voted to rescind the change.
“Due to confidentiality rules put in place by NCAA member schools, the NCAA will not comment on current, pending or potential investigations,” the NCAA said in a statement Monday. “However, the NCAA takes sports betting very seriously and is committed to the protection of student-athlete well-being and the integrity of competition. The Association works with integrity monitoring services, state regulators and other stakeholders to conduct appropriate due diligence whenever reports are received.”
Sorsby only has one year of eligibility remaining. If he returns to football but is ruled ineligible by the NCAA, he could choose to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft, which typically takes place in July or August. Former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor was selected in the 2011 Supplemental Draft after facing suspension by the NCAA over the Ohio State tattoo/memorabilia scandal.
Because the NCAA investigation is focused on the actions of Sorsby and currently no school is facing allegations of violations, a resolution to the case could come quickly. The NCAA’s Committee on Infractions would not need to be involved in this case as it stands.
When a potential eligibility issue arises, the school typically makes the athlete ineligible and then requests the NCAA student-athlete reinstatement to determine whether there is a path to regaining eligibility.
At that point, the NCAA makes a ruling.
Sorsby is the highest-profile college athlete to publicly seek treatment for a gambling issue since the onset of legalized sports gambling in recent years. Other college athletes have faced legal and eligibility consequences for gambling, though to this point, Sorsby has not been tied to or implicated in any illegal activity.
Former Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers pleaded guilty in 2023 to underage gambling and admitted in a plea agreement that he wagered on Iowa State football while he was a member of the team. He was one of five former Iowa and Iowa State athletes who pleaded guilty to underage gambling after a state investigation into sports wagering. Dekkers was later deemed permanently ineligible by the NCAA.
In January, federal prosecutors charged 20 men’s college basketball players with alleged conspiracy to manipulate games as part of a widespread gambling ring. Last fall, three Division I men’s basketball players had their eligibility permanently revoked by the NCAA for betting on their own games and “manipulating” their performances to alter outcomes.
The Red Raiders signed Sorsby to a one-year deal in January that is expected to pay him more than $4 million for the 2026 season, according to sources briefed on the terms.
Sorsby is also involved in an ongoing lawsuit filed against him by the University of Cincinnati. His former school is seeking a $1 million buyout in liquidated damages over Sorsby allegedly violating a multiseason revenue-sharing agreement with the university when he transferred to Texas Tech earlier this year. On Monday, the same day that news of Sorsby’s gambling and treatment broke, the quarterback and his legal representation filed a motion to dismiss, arguing the suit is “nothing more than an unreasonable penalty that is unlawful under Ohio law,” according to the motion.
The University of Cincinnati declined to comment on the matter.
Sorsby’s motion to dismiss could potentially have broader implications regarding revenue-sharing contracts and enforceability, depending on how the lawsuit unfolds. The motion states that the revenue sharing agreement with Cincinnati “is nothing more than a pay-for-play employment contract” that should classify the $1 million in liquidated damages as an “unreasonable penalty” under Ohio law.
The motion alleges that there were other Cincinnati football players who entered the transfer portal despite having similar buyout clauses, but that the school opted not to enforce those buyouts.
“The intent of the Agreement was to incentivize Mr. Sorsby’s attendance at UC and reward him for playing football,” the motion reads. “Now that Mr. Sorsby has exercised his right to transfer to another school, UC is trying to punish Mr. Sorsby, and selectively send a chilling message to other student-athletes.”
A ruling in favor of Sorsby could potentially make future liquidated damages clauses tougher to enforce. But Sorsby is now dealing with much more than just the lawsuit.
Sorsby’s arrival at Texas Tech made headlines as one of the top-rated transfers of the offseason and came on the heels of the Red Raiders winning the Big 12 and reaching the College Football Playoff in 2025. The team’s 12-2 record set the single-season mark for most wins in program history.
Adding Sorsby, who was also pursued by LSU and Miami, put Tech in a position to compete yet again in the Big 12 and for a CFP spot in 2026. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound dual-threat quarterback averaged better than 2,800 yards passing and 500 rushing yards in his two seasons with the Bearcats, including 36 touchdowns passing and rushing in 2025, third-most in the FBS, with only five interceptions.
With Sorsby’s status for the 2026 season now in question, Texas Tech could be in a very difficult position at quarterback, where quarterback Will Hammond is recovering from an ACL tear suffered last October.
— Ralph Russo and Matt Baker contributed to this report.
