Quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s search for a professional football home has hit another wall. The Canadian Football League confirmed late Thursday that all nine of its teams are barred from signing the 22-year-old signal-caller, who was suspended by the NCAA following a gambling investigation and was turned away from the NFL’s supplemental draft earlier this week.
The league made its position clear in an official statement released Friday. “Upholding the integrity of the league and ensuring fair competition are paramount to the CFL. The allegations involving Brendan Sorsby are serious and concerning,” the statement read. “At this time, the CFL will not register a contract for him, and no team will be permitted to add him to its negotiation list.”
The NCAA declared Sorsby ineligible after investigators found he had allegedly placed thousands of bets — many using accounts registered under other people’s names — totaling more than $90,000 over the course of his college career. Among those bets were wagers placed on Indiana football games while he was playing for the Hoosiers. He later transferred to Cincinnati, where last season he threw for 2,800 yards, 27 touchdowns, and five interceptions, while also rushing for nine scores. Sorsby subsequently spent several weeks in a treatment facility, citing a gambling addiction.
After his time with Cincinnati, Sorsby moved on to Texas Tech, but his off-field troubles caught up with him before he could take the field there.
When the NFL rejected his supplemental draft application this week — the league hasn’t held one since 2023 — it also sent Sorsby a letter criticizing him for not taking “responsibility for your actions” and for attempting to sidestep consequences through lawsuits and the draft application. The NFL’s recommendation was for Sorsby to focus on preparing for the 2027 NFL Draft.
Despite the setbacks, Sorsby still has legal options available. He is represented by former NFLPA attorney Jeffrey Kessler, who has a long track record of success in high-profile cases against the NFL. Kessler has won favorable outcomes for players including Tom Brady in the Deflategate case, Jonathan Vilma and other New Orleans Saints players in the Bountygate matter involving then-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, as well as arbitration cases on behalf of Michael Vick and Plaxico Burress.
