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The Big 12 presidents and chancellors haven't rushed to pull the league's recently filed federal lawsuit because there are still questions about Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s NFL future and any possible legal retribution, a Big 12 source told ESPN on Friday evening.
The Big 12 board of directors is expected to have a call early next week, sources said, to discuss next steps. Some have questioned what if any liability could exist for the conference or how it will play out with the NFL given Sorsby's admitted history of gambling.
"We don't know the answer to those questions," the source said. "We haven't done anything different at this point. We're going to reconvene next week to run through all the options. Right now that case is still active."
The Big 12 on Monday filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas seeking both a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief to allow the league the authority to use its bylaws to potentially punish Sorsby.
Sorsby, who admitted he broke NCAA rules by betting thousands of times, including 40 times on Indiana football while he was on that team’s roster, has since withdrawn his lawsuit against the NCAA and applied for the NFL supplemental draft. He dropped the lawsuit against the NCAA because he needs to be declared ineligible in college by Monday to be eligible for the supplemental draft.
The NFL still needs to approve Sorsby's application for there to be a 2026 supplemental draft, which would take place sometime later this summer.
The NFL hasn't had a supplemental draft since 2023, and no one has been selected in one since 2019, when the Cardinals picked safety Jalen Thompson with a fifth-round bid. The last quarterback to enter the supplemental draft was Terrelle Pryor, who was a third-round bid in 2011 for the Raiders.
A Big 12 athletic director said the conference could also still consider some punitive ramifications for Texas Tech. The source said it wasn't necessarily a case of trying to "punish them" but there are some who would like to hold the school responsible for the fees that resulted from the legal squabble.
"There may need to be consequences for Texas Tech, even if it works out this way," the source said. "It was pointed out there's been legal fees involved in this action. Is it right for all 16 schools to share in those legal fees when we didn't have anything to do with starting it? Those are some of the things that are going to have to be worked out and they will be."
