Well, it’s a day ending in “y,” so I am here talking about Brendan Sorsby again. 

This time, it’s because the NFL shut the door on Sorsby entering through a supplemental draft. The league sent Sorsby a letter explaining its decision, and it did not beat around the bush.

Here’s what the league cited as reasons it is not holding a supplemental draft for Sorsby:

• The application came in at the last minute

• A lack of supporting information or documentation about the NCAA’s gambling ruling against him

• No clear plan showing how Sorsby would follow the NFL’s gambling rules

• A lack of real accountability for the actions that landed him in this mess

The basic message was that Sorsby’s transgressions are serious enough that the NFL is not going to bend over backward to get him into the league.

The letter ended by encouraging Sorsby to prepare for “possible” entry into the 2027 NFL Draft. The league wants time to fully vet Sorsby to make sure he’s not a serious threat to gamble on his own team once he’s in the NFL. 

It’s perfectly fair to criticize the NFL for going light on players involved in domestic violence and a host of other heinous offenses while drawing a hard line on gambling. But you should have abandoned any idea of the NFL having a strong moral compass long ago.

The NFL cares about one thing above all else: business. Betting on your own team threatens the business. Sad as it may be, a player’s domestic violence issues generally do not. 

On the business front, the NFL’s decision completely justifies the Big 12’s visceral reaction to the possibility of Sorsby playing this year. The NFL does business better than any sports league in America, and it wanted no part of letting a player who bet on his own team off the hook.

In a way, I do feel bad for Sorsby. There is an entirely different conversation to be had about the proliferation of sports gambling, the barrage of ads thrown in the faces of college-aged men, and the addictive qualities of smartphones and gambling colliding at once.

I’m not a big fan of how prevalent sports gambling is in society today. We will have more Brendan Sorsbys in college sports. 

But at a certain point, you do have to take responsibility for your own actions. Instead of doing that, the immediate response from Sorsby’s camp to the NFL’s letter was to foreshadow yet another lawsuit.

I have to roll my eyes at this point. I am begging Sorsby to just take the L, focus on recovering from his addiction, and show some real contrition. 

One thing the NCAA is actually good at is warning student-athletes about the punishment for gambling. Sorsby knew the consequences and still went to great lengths to bet underage and have others make bets for him. 

Sorsby bet the under on the first half of an Indiana football game while with the Hoosiers in September 2023, literally one month after Iowa State’s Hunter Dekkers was at the center of a very public gambling scandal for betting on his own team. There is no excuse for Sorsby not being keenly aware of the potential consequences.

By the way, this is exactly why the Big 12 didn’t withdraw its federal lawsuit. The league wanted to make sure Sorsby wouldn’t come crawling back to college football if the NFL said no. 

So far, there are no signs of that. The fact that Sorsby’s legal team immediately put the NFL in its crosshairs suggests that is the route he is focused on. 

As for Texas Tech, things still seem contentious between the Red Raiders and the rest of the conference. Check out this shot from Tech board chair and megabooster Cody Campbell at UCF AD Terry Mohajir. 

Campbell is using Mohajir’s own words against him now that UCF edge Dean Miller is suing the NCAA for another year of eligibility. 

For what it’s worth, I get the point Campbell is making. But adding a year of eligibility because of time spent in junior college is not remotely the same thing as betting on your own team.

The bigger point is that Campbell and the Red Raiders aren’t happy, and they aren’t going to take the Sorsby saga quietly.

That relationship is a concern moving forward, and it’s why I desperately hope the Big 12 doesn’t actually pursue charging Tech for the league’s legal fees.

Big 12 media days are less than two weeks away. It will be fascinating to see whether everyone keeps their mouths shut with a horde of microphones in their faces. 

What You Need to Know

• The Big 12 set a league record with 13 NBA draft picks this week, including AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson at number one and two. 

• Here’s how much money Big 12 schools are paying all of their student-athletes every year in NIL and revenue-sharing dollars. 

• Oklahoma State found a creative way to add more football revenue to its bottom line. 

• Texas Tech made a surprise addition out of the transfer portal this week to bolster its 2026 roster. 

• Some SEC and Big Ten schools want to move the revenue-sharing cap from just over $20 million to $60 million.

• Want your Big 12 news and analysis in podcast form? Listen to Open For Business at the gym, in your car, or first thing in the morning on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.

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