Sports
QB Brendan Sorsby passes on NFL lawsuit, begins prep for 2027 draft
Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby goes through warmups before the spring football game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium. Brendan Sorsby plans to punt on further litigation, which finalizes that the former Indiana and Cincinnati quarterback will not play professional football until 2027.
Sorsby accepted the NFL’s rejection of his application for the supplemental draft and informed the league on Tuesday he won’t file a lawsuit to challenge the latest ruling that will keep him off the field.
“I accept 100% responsibility for my actions. I did not have control of my gambling problem and it took getting caught for me to realize that, but it was truly the best thing that could’ve happened to me. Because of this, I have been able get the help I need and fully focus on my recovery,” Sorsby said in a statement Tuesday. “The news about the supplemental draft changes nothing about my recovery journey — I will continue to take it one day at a time. Focusing on making myself better throughout this process and making sure to share what I have learned and will continue to learn with others going forward. I am fully committed to being the best version of myself that I can be while getting ready for the 2027 draft. God makes no mistakes and I look forward to seeing the good that is to come from this.”
All 32 NFL teams received a memo this week confirming Sorsby’s position. According to multiple reports, the memo included confirmation from “the NFLPA and Brendan Sorsby that there will be no further litigation regarding his entry into the NFL. Instead, Mr. Sorsby will focus on his preparation for entry into the League via the 2027 NFL Draft.”
The NFL chided Sorsby for a lack of accountability in its formal denial of his supplemental draft request, a harsh rebuke penned by NFL legal counsel Lawrence P. Ferazani Jr. He criticized Sorsby for failing to accept “responsibility for your actions” and trying to avoid consequences first through litigation and then by attempting to enter the NFL supplemental draft.
Sorsby was ranked the No. 1 quarterback in the transfer portal in December, when he left Cincinnati to join Texas Tech for a reported payday in the $5 million range.
Sorsby admitted to violating NCAA rules by placing thousands of bets, including 40 on Indiana football while he was on the Hoosiers’ roster. Sorsby transferred to Cincinnati after two years in Bloomington, Ind.
The NCAA ruled Sorsby ineligible to play for Texas Tech this fall for violating its policy on gambling, which prevents any student-athlete from placing bets on any NCAA-sanctioned event. Penalties for gambling, especially for cases where the player bets on their own team, can include permanent bans.
A district judge in Lubbock County granted an injunction on June 8 that cleared a path for Sorsby to play for Texas Tech until a court date after the 2026 season, but the NCAA issued an immediate appeal over the decision that outraged athletic directors and coaches across the country.
The Big 12 responded in a similar vein, asking courts to hold Sorsby and Texas Tech accountable for violations.
At that point, Sorsby and his attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, opted to drop the fight with the NCAA to pursue an immediate path to pro football. But the NFL denied Sorsby’s bid to enter the supplemental draft and the CFL prohibited its nine teams from signing the 22-year-old.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spain silences Argentina to win World Cup crown
July 19, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.; Spain’s Ferran Torres celebrates scoring their first goal with Lamine Yamal and teammates. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Ferran Torres scored in the 106th minute to lift Spain to their second World Cup title with a 1-0 win in extra time over gutsy, 10-man Argentina in Sunday’s final.
Torres’ deserved winner came 16 years and eight days after Andres Iniesta also scored in extra time to lift the Spaniards to their first World Championship with a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands.
It came on La Roja’s 20th shot on the contest against a defending champion Argentina that failed to manage any to that point and struggled to wrest possession away from their superior Iberian opponents.
That was true at even strength and became more difficult when the Albiceleste’s numbers were reduced when Enzo Fernandez’s late challenge of Pau Cubarsi left referee Slavko Vincic no choice but to produce a second caution just before the end of normal time.
Spain remain the only nation ever to win a European Championship and World Cup in successive tournaments, having now done so a second time. They are also the first World Cup champion ever to concede only once across an entire tournament.
Lionel Messi’s Argentina failed to earn a title for the first time in three major tournaments, having also captured the 2021 and 2024 Copa Americas either side of their 2022 World Cup triumph.
The 39-year-old, eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi finished the competition with eight goals and four assists, but had little time on the ball until Spain finally took the lead and never seriously looked like lifting his side to another great moment as he has so many times in the last two World Cup cycles.
Emi Martinez made 11 saves for the Albiceleste, who fell short in their bid to be the first consecutive World Cup champions since Brazil won the 1958 and 1962 titles.
What had felt so difficult for the first 105 minutes suddenly looked easy after 37 seconds of play in the second period of extra time.
Pedro Porro curled in an outswinging cross from the left to the back post, Nico Williams won the header and nodded it back into space, and Torres hammered a half-volley at last past the flailing Martinez. It was his only goal of the tournament, making him the seventh player to score during a tournament in which his side never trailed.
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
Sports
Spain silence Argentina to win World Cup crown
July 19, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.; Spain’s Ferran Torres celebrates scoring their first goal with Lamine Yamal and teammates. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Ferran Torres scored in the 106th minute to lift Spain to their second World Cup title with a 1-0 win over gutsy, 10-man Argentina in Sunday’s final.
Torres’ deserved winner came 16 years and eight days after Andres Iniesta also scored in extra time to lift the Spaniards to their first World Championship with a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands.
It came on La Roja’s 20th shot of the contest against the defending champions, who failed to manage any to that point and struggled to wrest possession away from their superior Iberian opponents.
That was true at even strength and became more difficult when the Albiceleste’s numbers were reduced when Enzo Fernandez’s late challenge of Pau Cubarsi left referee Slavko Vincic no choice but to produce a second caution just before the end of normal time.
Spain remain the only nation ever to win the European Championship and World Cup in successive tournaments, having now done so a second time. They are also the first World Cup champion ever to concede only once across an entire tournament.
Lionel Messi’s Argentina failed to earn a title for the first time in three major tournaments, having also captured the 2021 and 2024 Copa Americas on either side of their 2022 World Cup triumph.
The 39-year-old, eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi finished the competition with eight goals and four assists, but had little time on the ball until Spain finally took the lead and never seriously looked like lifting his side to another great moment as he has so many times in the last two World Cup cycles.
Emi Martinez made 11 saves for the Albiceleste, who fell short in their bid to be the first consecutive World Cup champions since Brazil won the 1958 and 1962 titles.
What had felt so difficult for the first 105 minutes suddenly looked easy after 37 seconds of play in the second period of extra time.
Pedro Porro curled in an outswinging cross from the left to the back post. Nico Williams won the header and nodded it back into space, and Torres hammered a half-volley at last past the flailing Martinez. It was his only goal of the tournament, making him the seventh player to score during a tournament in which his side never trailed.
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
Sports
Kylian Mbappe secures second World Cup Golden Boot
July 18, 2026; Miami Gardens, Florida, U.S.; France’s Kylian Mbappe reacts after the match. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images French superstar Kylian Mbappe became the first player to win multiple FIFA World Cup Golden Boot awards after Spain shut out Argentina 1-0 in the final on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.
Mbappe finished with 10 goals for the tournament after scoring twice in France’s 6-4 loss to England on Saturday in the third-place match.
His only competition still active was Lionel Messi, who was searching for his first Golden Boot along with trying to guide Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup. Messi and Argentina defeated Mbappe and France on penalty kicks in the 2022 final in Qatar.
But Argentina could not muster a shot on goal against Spain’s stalwart defense and had just two total shots, both coming late in the match. Messi went scoreless for the third match in a row. He had collected eight goals across the three group-stage matches, the round of 32 and the round of 16.
At 27, Mbappe already can call himself the greatest goal-scorer in World Cup history. His two second-half goals on Saturday pushed him past Messi for the all-time tournament record with 22 in just 22 matches. Messi — the first to break German Miroslav Klose’s career record early in the tournament before Mbappe caught up — stayed at 21 and may have played his final World Cup match Sunday at 39 years old.
Eight of Mbappe’s 10 goals this summer came in braces. He scored twice against Iraq, Senegal, Sweden and finally England. He was the first with 10 goals in a single World Cup since Gerd Muller of Germany in 1970.
–Field Level Media
Spain silences Argentina to win World Cup crown
Spain silence Argentina to win World Cup crown
