Brendan Sorsby hires prominent antitrust attorney to maintain collegiate eligibility

Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, currently under investigation for sports gambling by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), has hired antitrust attorney Jeffrey Kessler in an attempt to maintain his collegiate eligibility. 

Kessler served as the lead attorney in the House vs. NCAA case, which eventually led to revenue sharing in collegiate athletics after receiving approval in June 2025. He has also represented the NFL Players Association on behalf of athletes such as Tom Brady, Ezekiel Elliott and Adrian Peterson. 

Sorsby will enter a gambling addiction treatment program and take a leave of absence from the team after it was found he placed over 10,000 sports wagers since 2022, including bets placed on the Indiana football program while he redshirted for the university. 

It was previously confirmed Sorsby never placed bets on Indiana to lose a matchup or for the one game he played in against Penn State. Sorsby was the top-ranked transfer prospect by many college football outlets for 2026, eventually departing Cincinnati for Texas Tech. 

The NCAA forbids athletes from betting on any sport for which the Association sponsors a championship, either collegiate or professional, which could eventually lead to Sorsby being deemed ineligible to compete during the upcoming season. 

The Texas Tech quarterback placed wagers on college football and Major League Baseball (MLB) games, including as many as 20 bets per day across a variety of different sportsbooks in multiple states. 

In January 2026, the US Department of Justice charged 20 men with illegally fixing NCAA basketball games through an alleged point-shaving scheme, leading to 29 games having been affected by match-fixing operations.

The scheme reportedly involved 39 college basketball players from 17 different NCAA Division One universities, with four of the players charged having competed in matchups within seven days of the announcement.