Cincinnati knew – Brendan Sorsby’s agent, Ron Slavin, says Cincinnati was alerted to the quarterback’s gambling and did nothing for two years, while the school has declined comment. The dispute is now tangled in ongoing litigation over a $1 million transfer buyout and Sorsby’s
Brendan Sorsby’s quarterback future was supposed to be decided on the field. Instead, it has been shaped by a fight over eligibility, a court calendar, and a growing argument about who knew what—and when.
Sorsby’s agent, Ron Slavin, is laying part of the blame on Cincinnati. Speaking on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. Slavin said the Bearcats should be the ones facing scrutiny because they allegedly knew about Sorsby’s gambling for two years and still played him. “If anybody should be questioned or catching heat, it should be Cincinnati,” Slavin said. “Because they knew for two years and never said anything or didn’t do anything about it. That’s the part of the story that gets lost.”.
The allegation adds a new layer to a case that has already drawn widespread attention. In April, Cincinnati was alerted to Sorsby’s gambling prior to the start of the 2025 season. When reached in April, senior associate athletic director Zach Stipe said, “Cincinnati Athletics has no comment at this time.”.
The timeline matters because it intersects with how conferences detect prohibited wagers. The Big 12, which includes Cincinnati, uses ProhiBet, a compliance-driven app that every student-athlete in the conference must download. The app notifies universities when athletes attempt to sign up for betting platforms or place prohibited wagers.
That compliance system is now colliding with a separate, expensive dispute between Sorsby and Cincinnati. Cincinnati is seeking a $1 million buyout it says Sorsby owes for transferring to Texas Tech. while Sorsby filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. In that motion, Sorsby argued the penalty is “unreasonable and disproportionate.”.
Sorsby’s situation also sits at the center of a broader question: was the punishment tied to transfers meant to deter future moves, or was it being used as leverage beyond the NCAA rules?
Sorsby was paid $875,000 to play for the Bearcats in 2025. In his most recent motion, he said Cincinnati is using the $1 million penalty to prevent future players from transferring, despite NCAA unlimited transfer rules.
On June 16. after a Lubbock County judge granted a temporary injunction allowing Sorsby to play the 2026 season. Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield was asked about the fallout as attention turned toward Sorsby’s departure from the Bearcats’ orbit. “I wish Brendan the best in his future endeavors, which looks like the NFL,” Satterfield said. “I wish him the best as he heads that route. It certainly has been a wild ride over the last month or so. I’m pulling for Brendan in his future endeavors at football.”.
Satterfield’s remarks came after months of pressure that went beyond Cincinnati’s campus. After the injunction, other schools discussed a scheduling boycott, and Big 12 members raised objections to Sorsby playing this season. In the end. the pressure became too much of a burden. and Sorsby chose to enter the NFL supplemental draft. abandoning his efforts to play for the Red Raiders.
Slavin said the decision was not about losing interest in college football. “It just came down to too much pressure from everybody else on Tech and Brendan still wanted to play at Tech. this wasn’t Brendan Sorsby not wanting to play college football. ” he said. “This was Brendan Sorsby just being advised by the school that.. you know we had a seven days left to file for the supplemental draft and didn’t know where this thing was going to go. So we won in court. we did our job on our side but for whatever reason the world melted down and like college football was ruined forever.”.
For Cincinnati, the optics are already a key part of the story. Satterfield said all 32 NFL teams came to Cincinnati’s campus last year to meet with Sorsby, with many eager to talk about him. He also said he expects strong interest from teams now that Sorsby is set for the professional path.
Satterfield framed the upheaval as something that may ultimately reshape college athletics. “In light of everything that came out, it was such a media storm, especially over the last couple of weeks,” he said. “I think the way it all worked out … it’s going to be the best for college athletics.”
Taken together. the dispute follows a hard through-line: Cincinnati allegedly knew about the gambling issue before the 2025 season. Sorsby’s eligibility fight then exploded into a conference-wide controversy. and the transfer case now adds a $1 million buyout fight to the legal record. The court’s temporary injunction helped keep the 2026 plan alive for a moment—but the combined pressure. and the seven-day supplemental draft window Slavin referenced. left Sorsby with a decision that closes this chapter at college football’s highest stakes.
Brendan Sorsby Cincinnati Bearcats Scott Satterfield Ron Slavin NCAA gambling case ProhiBet Big 12 Texas Tech NFL supplemental draft college football eligibility transfer lawsuit $1 million buyout