Cincinnati sues Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby for $1 million, alleging breach of NIL contract after he transferred. Contract disputes between quarterbacks and their former schools has been common all winter, with no end in site.
Top-line quarterbacks are making several million dollars a year in NIL money these days, and Texas Tech's Brendan Sorsby signed a big deal with his new school in January.
But Cincinnati, his previous school, went to court on Wednesday to argue that Sorsby has breeched his 18-month contract with the Bearcats, and has filed suit in an Ohio court, seeking $1 million in damages.
Here's the story from Red Raider Roundtable writer Nathan Carseno.
Texas Tech is Sorsby's third team. He played at Indiana for two years in 2022 and 2023. He played in 11 games over two years, posting a 2-9 record, completing 138 of 242 passes for 1,595 yards, with 15 touchdown passes and six interceptions.
He transferred to Cincinnati after Curt Cignetti was hired at Indiana. Sorsby's replacement, Kurtis Rourke, led the Hoosiers to an 11-2 record and a College Football Playoff berth.
In 2024, Sorsby threw for 2,813 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Bearcats, leading them to a 5-7 record, andf 3-6 in the Big 12. According to Cincinnati officials, he signed an 18-month NIL deal after the season, and the Bearcats expected him to be their quarterback in 2025 and 2026. The deal was set to expire after the 2026 season.
Cincinnati went 7-5 and 5-4 in the Big 12 in 2025, and Sorsby threw for 2,800 yards andf 27 yards, with just five interceptions. But he opted out of their bowl game and entered the transfer portal in January, quickly signing with Texas Tech.
"Cincinnati athletics is proud to partner with its student-athletes and honors the contractual commitments it makes to them," the statement read, via The Athletic. "We expect student-athletes and their representatives to do the same. In his lucrative NIL agreement with Cincinnati athletics, Brendan Sorsby committed to stay and play for two seasons as a proud Bearcat representative. He also agreed that if he left the university before that time, he would pay the university a specific amount for the substantial harm that his breach would cause.
"Cincinnati athletics intends to enforce that contractual agreement. As stewards of the university’s resources, the athletics department has a duty to do so. We thank Brendan for his time at Cincinnati and wish him success in the future."
Sorsby actually played against Texas Tech in 2024, throwing for 426 yards in a 44-41 loss to the Red Raiders in Lubbock.
Sorsby's representation has released the following statement, accessed by Texas Tech's The Daily Toreador:
"Pursuing legal action against Brendan Sorsby is misguided. University of Cincinnati, through its revenue-share structure, paid him $875,800 for a season he fully completed and in that time, he generated millions in value for the program. Attempting to recover those funds now sends the wrong message to current and future student-athletes and risks damaging the long-term credibility of Cincinnati football.
"This is further disappointing given that Brendan parted ways with UC in what was a mutually agreeable manner. The money the university seeks to recover from him is nothing more than an unlawful penalty under Ohio law. Because UC has chosen to pursue this course of action, Brendan will aggressively defend the lawsuit and pursue any and all damages he incurs as a result of it."
This issue has come up several times this winter already. Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. tried to get out of his deal just two days after signing it, entering the transfer portal. Saying he got ''bad advice,'' he pulled out and stayed at Washington anyway.
But he also would have had a difficult time breaking his legally-binded deal. Washington coach Jedd Fisch talked about the adventure earlier this week. Here's the story from Huskies Roundtable writer Teren Kowatsch.
The most high-profile situation was with Duke quarterback Darian Mensah's split from the Blue Devils to accept a multi-million deal with the Miami Hurricanes, the national runner-up in 2025. Mensah also had a signed deal with Duke for 2026, but entered the portal anyway and signed with Duke.
He vowed never to return to Duke and put the school behind the eight-ball. After filing a lawsuit, the school was forced to settle out of court with him. He's enrolled at Miami now, and it will certainly be an awkward day on Nov. 14 when the Hurricanes host Duke in Miami.