Brendan Sorsby has reached a settlement with the NFL after his exclusion from the 2026 supplemental draft, with the league confirming he will be eligible for the 2027 NFL Draft and that there will be no further litigation. The NFL also says he won’t be able to
By Tuesday night, Brendan Sorsby’s next move stopped being a court question and became a draft preparation one.
The NFL and the quarterback have reached a settlement over his exclusion from the 2026 supplemental draft, ending what was heading toward continued legal action. Under the deal, Sorsby will not challenge the decision, and the league will allow him to enter the 2027 NFL Draft.
The NFL Players Association was involved in the negotiations as well. That mattered because Sorsby is currently not a member of the NFLPA. After he’s drafted—whether that happens in 2027 or if he goes undrafted and signs as a free agent—he will be in the NFLPA.
The league sent a memo to its clubs on Tuesday. and it spelled out what the settlement means in league and collective bargaining agreement terms. The memo confirmed that “there will be no further litigation regarding his entry into the NFL—and that instead, Mr. Sorsby will focus on his preparation for entry into the League via the 2027 NFL Draft.”.
For rules purposes, the NFL said Sorsby will be treated as a “Draft-Eligible” player for the 2027 NFL Draft. It also made the boundary clear: he will not be eligible to sign an NFL Player Contract until the completion of the 2027 NFL Draft.
This was the outcome the settlement has now locked in: one year of waiting. followed by a path back onto the NFL’s draft stage. The alternative—continuing to pursue the matter—carried risk beyond the legal outcome. The memo’s language effectively narrows the choices for both sides. with the NFL getting the legal closure it wanted and Sorsby getting a defined route into the league through April’s 2027 draft.
The details also put a spotlight on the trade-off that shaped Sorsby’s decision. A court fight could have produced different results depending on the judge assigned to handle the case. and even a win wouldn’t necessarily have come without costs in how the league viewed him going forward. Whatever the outcome in a courtroom, the NFL wouldn’t have been pleased with him either way.
The settlement also lands with a public-facing payoff. The narrative around Sorsby’s situation has included calls for some kind of punishment from a segment of the court of public opinion. even as his inability to play for Texas Tech this year has already served as a sanction. With the settlement now set. that demand for consequences appears to be answered—just with a clearer schedule and a cleaner stop to the litigation.
What’s left is the practical side: Sorsby’s preparation for the 2027 NFL Draft in April, with the agreement ensuring he’s treated as draft-eligible for league rules while keeping him from signing an NFL contract until the draft is completed.
Brendan Sorsby NFL 2027 NFL Draft 2026 supplemental draft NFLPA settlement eligibility litigation