NFL denies – The NFL has told Brendan Sorsby and his legal team it will not hold a supplemental draft this year, shutting the door on any path into pro football this fall and pushing any NFL entry to the traditional April 2027 draft. In a sharply worded letter, NFL Managem
For Brendan Sorsby, the timeline just stopped—at least for this fall.
On Tuesday, the NFL informed Sorsby and his legal team it will not conduct a supplemental draft this year. Without that option, there is no route for him to enter the NFL before the traditional April draft in 2027. Along with the decision. the league released a letter from Larry Ferazani. general counsel of the NFL Management Council. laying out why it would not alter its plans.
Ferazani’s message was blunt about what the NFL considered missing from Sorsby’s approach and about the seriousness of what the league says has been reported. He noted that the NFL does not have a complete record of the NCAA’s investigation into Sorsby. and that Sorsby’s team did not provide any such material either. Still. the NFL said it is aware of reported information that Sorsby “knowingly engaged in repeated and significant violations of NCAA rules designed to preserve the integrity of athletic competition” and that he “may have violated state criminal law.”.
In the letter, Ferazani said Sorsby’s petition did not deal with those issues. “Your Petition does not address these matters,” Ferazani wrote. “Nor does it demonstrate accountability for your conduct or indicate whether. or how. you would adhere to the League’s rules and policies governing the integrity of competition. Instead. even after receiving notice of the NCAA’s decision rescinding your college eligibility in May. you sought to avoid the consequences of that determination through litigation rather than accepting responsibility for your actions. and you pursued entry into the NFL only after abandoning those efforts.”.
The NFL also said it would not move on a petition it viewed as coming far too late and without evidence. “Your Petition—filed three business days before the deadline. without any supporting information or documentation. and only after abandoning your recent litigation efforts to avoid NCAA sanctions—does not provide a basis for the League to alter those plans. ” Ferazani said.
Ferazani further pointed to the NFL’s concern about timing and process. He wrote that “The issues presented by your Petition are too significant, and too closely tied to the League’s core integrity interests, to permit meaningful review within the timeline presented.”
The letter put focus on Sorsby’s broader conduct during a period when he tried to find an escape from NCAA punishment tied to the league’s anti-sports gambling rules. The NFL’s position is that Sorsby’s petition never demonstrated the kind of accountability and rule-and-policy adherence the league expects.
Sorsby’s fall-back plan in the college game was built around litigation as well. After the NCAA rescinded his eligibility in May. he pursued legal efforts in state court that he hoped would overturn the NCAA’s decision. He later withdrew only after backlash to a temporary injunction became too great. a development that included a lawsuit filed by the Big 12 Conference itself. Only then did Sorsby pivot toward entry into the NFL supplemental process.
There is also the question the NFL says it cannot ignore: whether Sorsby accepted what he did and what it means for future compliance. The letter states the NFL believes he acted repeatedly in ways that were intended to evade consequences. while also moving toward NFL entry only after the earlier legal efforts were abandoned.
One key detail remains unresolved for the NFL: the completeness of the NCAA’s records. Ferazani said the NFL does not have a complete record of the NCAA’s investigation and that Sorsby’s team did not supply material to fill that gap. Even so. the league says it is aware of reported information about repeated NCAA rule violations and potential state criminal law concerns. and that those matters were not addressed in the petition.
In the end, Tuesday’s decision is not just a procedural refusal. It changes what’s possible for Sorsby between now and next April—because the NFL says there will be no supplemental draft this year. If he wants to play in the NFL. the next available door remains the traditional April 2027 draft. not a rushed detour meant to bypass the normal calendar.
NFL Brendan Sorsby supplemental draft Larry Ferazani NFL Management Council NCAA eligibility sports gambling rules Big 12 Conference lawsuit