Despite former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby officially entering the NFL Supplemental Draft, his gambling past still lingers. As NFL teams evaluate him, his agent, Ron Slavin, is fighting back against what he calls overblown media characterizations.
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Slavin appeared in a conversation with Mike Florio on “Pro Football Talk” and, when asked about a potential suspension hovering over Sorsby, emphasized that the context of Sorsby’s actions has been completely lost in the national news cycle.
“I would hope that they would look into what the NCAA investigation revealed,” Slavin said. “I would hope that they would take time to talk to Brendan, talk to the people that are behind him now with, with helping him with all of this and then, you know, come to their own conclusion.”
“I say it over and over and over because I feel like this is so lost in all these, the national TV shows that are talking about this about the integrity of the game. ‘Can we trust the kid in the locker room? Will he be betting on his own team, in on his games when he’s playing?’ He never did that, and he definitely never did that during his 35 starts,” Slavin added.
The distinction between a casual gambler and a systemic threat to the game is the focal point of Slavin’s defense. While initial reports highlighted that Sorsby placed numerous wagers over a four-year span, the monetary scale paints a far less malicious picture than the headlines imply.
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According to Slavin, Sorsby never engaged in high-stakes gambling or game-fixing. The volume of bets was a product of micro-wagering on standard, legalized sports.
“This was about a kid that would watch a game and put three or five dollars on a game. And once he became a starting player, most of his bets were for UFC and NASCAR and things that are actually legal to bet on,” Slavin explained.
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Slavin pushed back further and said, “So, this isn’t some kid who was out there placing $50,000 bets and fixing games and doing things that, for whatever reason, people want to build that up, but that was something that happened… and that never happened. His average bet was $10 a bet.”
From a pure talent perspective, Sorsby is an incredibly intriguing asset for July’s Supplemental Draft. Last season at Cincinnati, he threw for 2,800 yards, 27 touchdowns, and just 5 interceptions. According to PFSN’s CFB QB Impact Metric, he posted an impact score of 88.2, ranking 10th in the country, and showcased a statistical profile that many talent evaluators grade as a legitimate second-round caliber value.
So, it’s no wonder that the New York Jets, currently navigating a highly unstable quarterback room featuring Geno Smith and a handful of unproven backups, have been heavily linked to Sorsby as a potential developmental option.
However, the looming threat of NFL discipline under the league’s strict gambling policy remains a major hurdle. The league historically hands down minimum one-year suspensions for players betting on NFL games, and though Sorsby’s infractions occurred at the college level, franchises are performing rigorous due diligence.
