Why are Cincinnati Bearcats Suing Former QB Brendan Sorsby?

After months of headlines involving college athletes taking the NCAA and various collegiate programs to court, the Cincinnati Bearcats find themselves being the ones to flip the tables by bringing forth a lawsuit against their former quarterback, Brendan Sorsby.

Cincinnati is arguing for a $1-million buyout on the grounds that the 22-year-old violated a two-year NIL deal that was signed on July 1st of 2025. According to the lawsuit, Sorsby’s contract made a particular distinction that, should he transfer to another university, he would be obligated to pay the million dollars in “liquidated damages” within 30 days of his doing so.

The Bearcats are alleging that, even though the 30-day window has expired, they have yet to receive anything at all from Sorsby. In their official statement, the university emphasized its grievances with their former signal caller, reasserting that Sorsby “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.”

And just to make sure that their intentions wouldn’t be misinterpreted, it was once again reiterated that “Cincinnati athletics intends to enforce that contractual agreement.”

Sorsby’s agent, Ron Slavin, has come out against this lawsuit, claiming that his client is prepared to fight both the lawsuit and any punitive damages that may come from it. Nevertheless, it does seem as if, on paper at least, that Cincinnati will have a favorable outcome in court, so as long as they have just that, anyway, a piece of paper.

If their claims involving the contract are legitimate, and the same holds true for the assertion that an authentic Brendan Sorsby signature is at the bottom of it, then it’s going to be pretty hard for the now-Texas Tech quarterback to duck this bill.

Thankfully, the Red Raiders were kind enough to offer him a $5-million NIL deal to transfer, so there’s no need to feel too bad about the entire ordeal.

For some, this will mark a turning of the tide during a time in which many believe that the entire concept of the transfer portal and NIL dealings has gone too far. A Cincinnati-friendly ruling would be jeered as a victory for the NCAA, as cries for more “player accountability” ring out.

To others, it’ll still be viewed as a loss for the Bearcats no matter what, as it’s hard to comprehend how a team could have possibly managed to go from rostering what proved to be one of the highest-ranked prospects on the open market to standing opposite him in a courtroom.