One of the big surprises of the 2025 college football season was the rise of Texas Tech under head coach Joey McGuire as the Red Raiders won a Big 12 Conference championship and made the College Football Playoff for the 1st time.
While Texas Tech lost in the CFP quarterfinals to Oregon, the work on becoming and staying a national power hasn’t stopped.
McGuire made arguably the biggest splash in the transfer portal in January by signing Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby to one of the largest NIL deals in college football history — reportedly worth between $5 million and $6 million for the 2026 season.
It’s also an NIL deal that’s going to see Sorsby in court before he ever plays a game in Lubbock after news broke on Wednesday that his old school is suing him for $1 million.
“The University of Cincinnati has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against former quarterback Brendan Sorsby, according to court documents,” The Athletic’s Justin Williams wrote. “Cincinnati is seeking a $1 million buyout in liquidated damages from Sorsby for the quarterback violating a multiseason revenue-sharing agreement with the university.”
Several Transfers Led Sorsby to Texas Tech
Texas Tech will be the 3rd college stop for Sorsby, 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, who played for Indiana in 2022 and 2023 before playing for Cincinnati the last 2 seasons.
Sorsby went 12-12 over 2 seasons as Cincinnati’s starter and was named All-Big 12 in 2025 after he threw for 2,800 yards, 27 touchdowns and 5 interceptions to with 580 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns.
“The Red Raiders were determined to add the best available quarterback when the portal opened in January and succeeded in beating out Lane Kiffin and LSU for Sorsby, ESPN’s No. 1-ranked transfer QB,” ESPN’s Max Olson wrote in January. “The second-team All-Big 12 performer finished with a top-10 QBR (81.4) last season while throwing for 2,800 yards, rushing for 580 and scoring 36 total TDs in his second year as the Bearcats’ starter. Sorsby considered going pro before opting to join the defending Big 12 champs to try to lead them on another run to the College Football Playoff.”
Cincinnati: Sorsby Signed 18-Month Contract in 2025
According to the lawsuit, Sorsby signed an 18-month contract in 2025 that spanned the 2025 and 2026 seasons and included language that said Sorsby would pay a $1 million buyout to the university if he transferred to another school before the contract’s end date of December 15, 2026.
According to The Athletic, Sorsby and his representatives refused to pay the $1 million when approached by Cincinnati officials.
“Cincinnati athletics is proud to partner with its student-athletes and honors the contractual commitments it makes to them,” Cincinnati wrote in a statement following the lawsuit being filed. “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 commitment. 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.”
Texas Tech Quarterback Brendan Sorsby Facing $1 Million Lawsuit