Brendan Sorsby under investigation by the NCAA Due to Sports Gambling
Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is under NCAA investigation for gambling on a variety of sports through a gambling app.
Sorsby, the #1 player in this year’s transfer portal, recently committed to Texas Tech for this upcoming season. He reportedly signed an NIL deal worth approximately $5 million — one of the largest contracts in college football. Texas Tech pulled in one of the best transfer classes in the country, and Sorsby was supposed to be the missing piece that could lead the Red Raiders to a National Title.
As of today, Sorsby has voluntarily checked himself into a gambling rehab facility in an effort to combat his gambling addiction. Something like this is unprecedented, as he is the first college athlete to do something like this.
The situation is further complicated by a lawsuit from his former school. Cincinnati is currently suing Sorsby for $1 million, claiming a breach of contract with his NIL agreement after he transferred to Texas Tech. It is clear that Cincinnati is not happy that he left, and they want to be compensated for it.
Something to note is that all of this gambling took place in 2022, when Sorsby was a redshirt freshman at Indiana. He bet on Indiana football to win, but he did not play in any of the games he bet on. Most of these gambling cases are due to players either “point-shaving” or intentionally throwing a game so that they can make money, neither are things Sorsby did.
This is a really interesting case for the NCAA, as they have extremely strict gambling rules. The guidelines as of 2023 state that wagers "greater than $800" would lead to the potential loss of 30% of a season of eligibility. For wagers over $800, the staff is directed to consider whether additional loss of eligibility, "including permanent ineligibility," is appropriate.
Texas Tech HC Joey McGuire stated: "We love Brendan and support his decision to seek professional help. Taking this step requires courage, and our primary focus is on him as a person."
The stakes for Texas Tech extend beyond just Sorsby. Backup quarterback Will Hammond is recovering from a torn ACL and may not be ready for the season opener, leaving the program in a precarious position if Sorsby cannot play.
Texas Tech is not going to go down in this situation without a fight. The belief is that the NCAA will not come down a full loss of eligibility, as he never bet on anything he played in.
At the end of the day, Sorsby did what millions of others across the country do on a day-to-day basis — he placed bets on a mobile gambling app that is promoted on every sports broadcast in the country.
