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Cincinnati suing Texas Tech football quarterback Brendan Sorsby | Report
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- Cincinnati suing Texas Tech football quarterback Brendan Sorsby | Report
New Texas Tech football team quarterback Brendan Sorsby is being sued by the University of Cincinnati after Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech earlier this year.
Justin Williams of The Athletic reported the lawsuit on Wednesday afternoon, citing court documents he and the outlet were able to obtain. According to Williams' report, "Cincinnati is seeking a $1 million buyout in the form of liquidated damages from Sorsby for the quarterback breaking a multiseason revenue-sharing agreement with the university."
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"In his lucrative NIL agreement with Cincinnati athletics," the University of Cincinnati said in a statement provided to Williams , " 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 of the substantial harm that his breach would cause. Cincinnati athletics intends to enforce the 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."
The lawsuit, Williams writes, says that Sorsby signed a deal in July 2025 that was an 18-month agreement, spanning two football seasons with the Bearcats, which ran through Dec. 15, 2026. According to the story, the contract language says Sorsby was due to pay the university $1 million for transferring before the contract was completed.
"Pursuing legal action against Brendan Sorsby is misguided," Sorsby's representative at LIFT Sports Management said in a statement provided to The Athletic. "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.
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"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."
Sorsby officially signed with Texas Tech in early January after entering the transfer portal, which opened Jan. 2. He comes to Lubbock with one year of eligibility remaining after totaling 2,800 passing yards, 500 rushing yards and at least 9 rushing touchdowns each of the last two seasons at Cincinnati.
Texas Tech is coming off a Big 12 Conference championship, the program's first appearance in the College Football Playoff, and a loss to Oregon in the CFP quarterfinals in the Orange Bowl.
Sorsby has already made his mark around Lubbock, sitting courtside for Texas Tech men's basketball games against Houston and in Tuesday's game against Cincinnati, in which he shared a pregame hug with Bearcats guard Day Day Thomas before tip-off.
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This is not the first time, and it likely will not be the last, that a school has sought damages from a player who transfers after signing a multi-year deal. The most high-profile case came when Duke quarterback Darian Mensah transferred to Miami (FL) after having a similar multiseason deal with the Blue Devils. The two sides eventually settled, which allowed Mensah to join the Hurricanes without further distraction.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football QB Brendan Sorsby reportedly being sued by Cincinnati
