Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, the top college football transfer this offseason, has checked into a treatment program for a gambling addiction after he was caught betting on sports, including his own team.
Sorsby is facing an NCAA investigation that could end his season before it starts.
Texas Tech announced Monday that Sorsby will take an immediate, indefinite leave of absence from the program. ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported the NCAA investigation.
Sources told ESPN that Sorsby made “thousands of online bets on a variety of sports via a gambling app” — a clear violation of the NCAA’s strict no-betting policy. The bets dated back to 2022, when Sorsby was a redshirt freshman at Indiana. He bet on Indiana to win, though never on a game in which he played. Sources described his gambling as “a steady flurry of small bets over a period of time.”
Under NCAA rules, betting on any sports can cost a player up to half a season of eligibility. Bets totaling more than $800 carry an additional 30% loss of eligibility, a threshold Sorsby almost certainly crossed if he placed thousands of wagers. Permanent loss of eligibility is reserved for players who bet on their own games or attempt to influence outcomes.
Texas Tech signed Sorsby this offseason with an NIL deal reportedly worth nearly $5 million, making this one of the biggest gambling scandals in college football history. He was widely considered one of the best returning quarterbacks in the country after throwing for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns at Cincinnati in 2025.
Sorsby’s arrival had cemented Texas Tech as the favorite to repeat as Big 12 champions. The Red Raiders went to the College Football Playoff ranked fourth last season before falling to Oregon in the Orange Bowl.
Coach Joey McGuire said the team was behind the quarterback Monday.
“We love Brendan and support his decision to seek professional help,” 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.”
Texas Tech put out an official statement addressing the scandal. “Texas Tech’s primary focus remains on fostering an environment where student-athletes feel empowered to prioritize their mental health and seek professional assistance. To protect the integrity of the recovery process, Texas Tech will have no further comment on Brendan’s status or treatment progress at this time,” it read.
The timing couldn’t be worse for the Red Raiders. Backup quarterback Will Hammond is recovering from an ACL tear suffered last October, and his return timeline is unclear.
Adding to Sorsby’s legal headaches, the University of Cincinnati filed a $1 million lawsuit against him in February over an alleged breach of his NIL contract following his transfer to Texas Tech. Sorsby filed a motion to dismiss that lawsuit Monday.
The Sorsby case is the biggest scandal within the NCAA’s growing gambling crisis. NCAA president Charlie Baker said enforcement is a priority after a massive points-fixing scandal swept through college basketball earlier this year.
“Our enforcement staff has opened sports betting integrity investigations into approximately 40 student-athletes from 20 schools over the past year,” Baker said. “While some of the investigations are ongoing, 11 student-athletes from seven schools were recently found to have bet on their own performances, shared information with known bettors, and/or engaged in game manipulation to collect on bets they — or others — placed. This behavior resulted in a permanent loss of NCAA eligibility for all of them.”