Cincinnati football is suing former Bearcat quarterback Brendan Sorsby after the former Bearcat transferred to Texas Tech this offseason.
According to Justin Williams of The Athletic, the Bearcats are looking for Sorsby’s $1 million buyout from violating his multi-year NIL revenue-sharing agreement that he signed with his former program in July 2025. According to The Athletic, the lawsuit mentioned that the buyout payment was due to Cincinnati within 30 days of Sorsby’s transfer.
Sorsby signed with the Red Raiders, who are coming off their first College Football Playoff berth, on Jan. 4. The Red Raiders formally announced his transfer on Jan. 6.
‘Cincinnati Athletics is proud to partner with its student-athletes and honors the contractual commitments it makes to them. We expect student-athletes and their representatives to do the same,’ Cincinnati said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. ‘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.’
Sorsby announced on Dec. 15 that he would opt out of Cincinnati’s Liberty Bowl appearance and that he was entering his name into the transfer portal. It marked the second time in his career that Sorsby is in the portal after he transferred to Cincinnati from Indiana following the 2023 season.
Sorsby’s representatives at LIFT Sports Management said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports that Cincinnati’s pursuit of legal action against the now Red Raiders quarterback is ‘misguided.’ Cincinnati’s lawsuit was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Western Division.
‘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,’ LIFT Sports Management said in its statement.
‘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.’
Sorsby had Cincinnati sitting near the Big 12 standings for a majority of the season, even spending some time in the top 25, before entering a four-game losing skid to end the regular season. He completed 207-of-336 passes for 2,800 yards and a career-high 27 touchdown passes while tying a career-high nine rushing touchdowns.
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