The NFL informed quarterback Brendan Sorsby that it will not hold a supplemental draft this year after he submitted a petition three business days before the June 22 deadline, league officials said.
A letter from Larry Ferazani, general counsel for the NFL Management Council, told Sorsby that his filing lacked supporting documentation and arrived too close to the deadline for the league to complete a review required to convene a supplemental draft. Under league rules, any such draft would have to be held no later than seven days before the start of the first training camp, which this year would have been around July 15 or 16.
Sorsby’s attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, told ESPN that the league’s decision violates the collective bargaining agreement and the law and that they will pursue the matter with the NFL Players Association, according to ESPN. NFL national reporter Dan Graziano wrote that the league also cited the timing of the petition and the nature of Sorsby’s issues — specifically past gambling conduct that led to his NCAA ineligibility — in deciding not to hold a draft.
Earlier this year Sorsby acknowledged placing bets on multiple sports and completed an in-patient rehabilitation program for a gambling addiction. The NCAA denied his request for reinstatement in May, but a Texas judge granted him a temporary injunction in early June that made him eligible to play in the 2026 college season. Amid a Big 12 lawsuit over his eligibility and public backlash, Sorsby opted to apply for the supplemental draft instead.
The league has not held a supplemental draft since 2019 and retains sole discretion to hold or decline one in any season. Sorsby was the only player to apply this year. The league cited those factors in saying it had no prior plans to stage a supplemental draft before Sorsby’s late petition.
The situation follows earlier cases of college players betting on games, including Hunter Dekkers, who was ruled ineligible before the 2023 season after a state criminal probe found he bet on a game involving his school. Dekkers did not play in Division I in 2023, spent 2024 at Iowa Western Community College, went undrafted and later signed with the Saints as a free agent, spending last season on the practice squad.
