| NFC NORTH |
| MINNESOTAWR JUSTIN JEFFERSON is saying good things about QB KYLER MURRAY. Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com: Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson said recently that it would be great to have the same quarterback for “these next couple of years.” But it remains to be seen whether the Vikings will have that. The Vikings have started eight different quarterbacks the past three seasons after Kirk Cousins started 49 of 50 games during Jefferson’s first three seasons. The Vikings do not even know who their starting quarterback will be this season. Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy are competing for the job. Murray is on a one-year deal, and McCarthy enters his third season with a lot to prove. Jefferson lauded Murray during a Monday appearance on KFAN FM 100.3, but said he is “excited” to see how the quarterback competition plays out this summer. “He understands the game,” Jefferson said. “He understands the defenses. He understands just how to put touch on the ball, just enough to where it gets to where it gotta go, without making it difficult for us. So, he understands the game a lot more just because he’s been in the game for a couple of years now. So, he kinda throws the ball before you even get out of that break. Throws you open for sure. He’s a smart guy, and he’s a competitor just like me.” “I’m looking forward to see how good he does in training camp. I’m looking forward to J.J., seeing his improvements and seeing the different things that he has picked up over the offseason. I’m excited for the competition. I’m excited for that to go on in training camp and see the different plays that they make.” Murray, who turns 29 in August, gets a second chance after going 38-48-1 in seven seasons in Arizona, with 20,460 yards, 121 touchdowns and 60 interceptions.– – -New GM Nolan Teasley is seen as a collaborator. Alec Lewis of The Athletic: Twenty years ago, Minnesota Vikings co-owner and chairman Zygi Wilf gathered with reporters at a table inside the swanky dining room at the nearby Interlachen Country Club. Members of the media wanted to know how to think about the team’s new leadership structure. Wilf reached for the silverware. He positioned a fork, spoon and knife in the shape of a triangle. Each segment of the shape represented one of the team’s primary decision-makers: the head coach, the personnel director and the salary-cap analyst. Locally, this scene carried lore, with Zygi’s picture referred to as the “Triangle of Authority.” Its longevity is partially a byproduct of the result. The structure failed. Miserably. Fran Foley, whom the Vikings hired to run personnel (over then-Green Bay Packers executive and future Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider), held his job for three months. The head coach at the time, Brad Childress, assumed that role as well. These circumstances set up for a seemingly endless cycle of siloes, egos and struggle. Over the years, the names have changed, but the problems continued. Incongruent personalities at the top — and questions about who made decisions and why — are perhaps as much a defining characteristic of recent Vikings history as Adrian Peterson’s rushing dominance and Justin Jefferson’s route-running savvy. To sum up the last two decades, Vikings ownership has twisted the Rubik’s Cube time and time again like a hopeful child, unable to find the right combination. Co-owner and president Mark Wilf knows this. It’s why, during new general manager Nolan Teasley’s introductory press conference Wednesday, he gave this response to a fourth consecutive question regarding who reports to whom: “If it comes to structure, we’ve got a problem, OK? The end result is making sure leaders collaborate and work together.” With their latest spin of the cube, the Vikings placed Teasley at the top of the pyramid. Ownership believes his football acumen and his learning experiences with the Seahawks will establish tried-and-true processes and modes of communication that will be easy for the coaches, especially head coach Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores, to get behind. “I think we have it all put together in a great way,” Mark Wilf said. “I’m confident that this is a great move for the Minnesota Vikings.” Teasley will oversee the football operations department. His scouting expertise gives him an understanding of what’s required from an intel-gathering perspective. Crossover with performance science and analytics in Seattle will offer him a baseline expectation of the types of employees he needs in those areas. Ownership also granted him final say on the 53-man roster, though Teasley reiterated that he will seek extensive direction in that area from the coaching staff. Meanwhile, executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski will support Teasley on negotiating and salary-cap matters. Wednesday, Teasley highlighted Brzezinski’s experience and called him an “incredible asset” and the “ultimate team player,” speaking to the consensus-building nature the Wilfs envisioned with Teasley’s hiring. “You’re anchored by process so that everybody understands the foundation of it all,” Teasley said. “If you have disagreements, you go back to the beginning. You start over. We work together until we have that consensus. And ultimately, if you don’t build that (consensus) at decision-making time, that’s part of our process. We’re not moving forward with that particular acquisition.” “When Nolan talks, he always says, ‘No ego,’” former Panthers GM Scott Fitterer said. “That’s a John Schneider thing. Nolan lives that.” Poetically, this description matches how the Vikings’ ownership group landed here in the first place. In 2012, the Wilf family arrived at a fork in the road with its triumvirate of experts, who shared an equal amount of influence. So, they put Rick Spielman in the primary general manager seat. He remained until his relationship with former head coach Mike Zimmer reached an untenable stage. At that point, the Vikings swung for the fences with a data-oriented, outside-the-box candidate in Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. His non-scouting background never quite meshed with the largely preexisting staff. An eye-popping draft-night trade further torpedoed his attempts to build bridges. By the end, even though Adofo-Mensah finished with a 43-25 record during his tenure, tension and siloed decision-making became too much to overcome. Vikings ownership decided to spin the cube again. A search firm, TurnkeyZRG, helped the Vikings identify candidates. During their interviews, the executives were asked to describe specific acquisitions. O’Connell participated in the process, elevating the depth of the football conversations and assessing the tone of what a potential partnership would look like. “I know the responsibilities that I have,” O’Connell said. “And one of those is to build a unique relationship where it’s built on trust, and it’s built on a level of personal responsibility to be competent in your role for the greater good of others. Now, we support each other.” O’Connell’s comments speak to his understanding that his malleability here will factor prominently in the outcome. His open-mindedness to alternate viewpoints will be essential. Deferring to another person on personnel has the potential not only to lighten the load on O’Connell, but also to generate roster-building ideas that might not have emerged otherwise. At the same time, Teasley knows he must assess the team’s scouting infrastructure. Solid decisions are only as good as the information they’re based on, and Teasley confirmed the Vikings would be guided by evaluation and anchored by data. He outlined his vision with concision, talking about fortifying depth, building through the draft and supplementing the roster via free agency. Optimism is warranted, especially with the glowing reviews from executives and agents around the NFL. It’s also natural. Without hope, what do you have? Without hope, why would it be sensible to think that this structure, the latest twist of the Rubik’s Cube, would unlock the path these Twin Cities have always coveted? |
| NFC WEST |
| LOS ANGELES RAMSLT ALARIC JACKSON faces California felony charges, although inflicting scratch marks on a woman’s arm while snatching a phone away from her seems more like a misdemeanor. Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com: Los Angeles Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson was arrested on a felony domestic violence charge Monday night, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to ESPN. Police said the charge was for “a person who willfully inflicts corporal injury” against a spouse. The news of the arrest was first reported Tuesday by NBC4, which reported that “Jackson thought the woman was recording him with her phone and allegedly tried to take the phone out of her hand.” According to NBC4, “investigators said the woman had scratch marks on her arms.” Jackson was booked Tuesday at 4:24 a.m. local time and released on $50,000 bond at 7:20, according to jail records. In November, Jackson was sued by a woman who alleged he recorded her without her consent during sex, repeatedly refused to delete the video and taunted her with it. The lawsuit said the woman reported the incident to the NFL. Jackson served a two-game suspension in August 2024 after the NFL announced he had violated the league’s personal conduct policy. In February 2014, the Rams and Jackson agreed to a three-year, $57 million contract extension.– – -Mike Florio notes that EDGE MYLES GARRETT will go from obscurity to primetime in 2026. The Myles Garrett trade can be fairly characterized as a win-win for the Rams and the Browns. It’s also a win for the NFL and the TV audience. Garrett’s former team, the Browns, has one prime-time game in 2026, on a Thursday night in Week 4 against the Steelers. All of Cleveland’s other 16 games start at 1:00 p.m. ET on a Sunday. Garrett’s new team, the Rams, has seven prime-time games. They could be flexed into another, per league rules. Beyond that, the Rams have a pair of significant 4:25 p.m. ET games: Week 14 at the 49ers on Fox and Week 15 vs. the Cowboys on CBS. Both will likely be televised in most American markets. It means that, thanks to the trade, millions more will see Garrett play this year, in both night games and high-stakes, big-platform Sunday afternoon windows. Currently, the Rams are scheduled to play only twice at 1:00 p.m. ET on a Sunday. At the Eagles, and at the Commanders. |
| AFC NORTH |
| CLEVELANDG JOEL BITONIO, who labored through 12 years with the Browns, is retiring. Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com: Longtime Cleveland Browns left guard Joel Bitonio announced his retirement Tuesday after 12 seasons in the NFL. Bitonio, 34, spent his entire career in Cleveland, which selected him with the 35th overall pick in the 2014 draft. Bitonio was named to seven Pro Bowls, tied with Myles Garrett for the fourth most in team history. Bitonio said at a news conference Tuesday that it was important to him to spend his entire career with the Browns. “I learned to appreciate everyone who helped me on this amazing journey,” Bitonio said. “I learned what an honor and privilege it is to be able to wear that orange helmet and what this team means to the fans. I learned how hard it is to say goodbye. I had a good idea back in January that this was the end for me, but this place is so special that it was hard to truly say goodbye. I’m so glad I got to learn and be a Cleveland Brown my entire career.” Bitonio also was named first-team All-Pro in 2021 and 2022. In 2022, Bitonio was named the Browns’ Walter Payton Man of the Year, and he was the team’s Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award winner twice (2018, 2023). “Truthfully, as time passed and my career kept going, there was never a point where I could envision myself in a different uniform,” Bitonio wrote in a farewell letter. “Wearing that orange helmet and being part of this franchise — from getting drafted to signing three contracts — I felt a loyalty to the Browns, and it gave me a sense of pride to represent a fan base who is consistently loyal to us. I started the job here, and once I got to a certain point, I knew I wanted to finish the job in Cleveland. “Now that job is finished. After 12 seasons of wearing No. 75 in brown and orange, I have officially decided to retire.” Bitonio’s 178 starts are the most by any Browns player since the franchise returned to Cleveland in 1999. He was the longest-tenured player on the team until his contract voided in March, making him an unrestricted free agent. Bitonio mulled retirement last year but opted to return to the Browns for what would be his final season. In 2025, he ranked third among 65 qualifying guards in ESPN’s pass block win rate metric and 16th out of 62 guards in run block win rate. |
| THIS AND THAT |
| RUSSELL WILSON – IN THE HALL OF FAME?There was time that Russell Wilson seemed to be a sure Hall of Famer. Then came his fallout in Seattle, his mediocrity at his next three stops and now Mike Sando of The Athletic takes stock of the totality of his career. No recent NFL star has needed the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s mandatory five-year waiting period more than Russell Wilson needs it right now. The Super Bowl-winning quarterback, set to join CBS’ pregame show after announcing his retirement Wednesday, went from Seattle Seahawks superstar to frequently mocked journeyman so quickly that only time will help process the implications in an even-handed manner. The Hall-of-Fame headwinds Wilson faces extend beyond his career nosedive after Seattle traded him to the Denver Broncos in 2022. There’s still a path for him, but it’s complicated. The problems for Wilson Historic collapseNo top quarterback this century has fallen off as dramatically as Wilson did after leaving Seattle for Denver, Pittsburgh and the Giants. Wilson is one of 14 quarterbacks since 2000 with at least 100 starts in his first 10 seasons and at least 30 starts over seasons 11-14, per TruMedia. Of the 14, Wilson suffered by far the largest statistical decline from seasons 1-10 to seasons 11-14 as measured by EPA per pass play. Wilson went from averaging 0.12 EPA per pass play over his first 10 seasons (about the same as Matthew Stafford and Dak Prescott over the past decade) to averaging -0.05 across his final four seasons (about the same as Justin Fields for his career). Inflated Pro Bowl resumeWe’ve seen many references to Wilson as a 10-time Pro Bowl selection, which would put him in the same stratosphere as Aaron Rodgers (10). But there’s a difference in the quality of those selections. Rodgers never accepted a Pro Bowl invitation as a replacement for someone unable or unwilling to take part. While Rodgers was a 10-time choice on merit, Wilson accepted five Pro Bowl invites as a replacement for someone who missed the game. Since 2008, the earliest year for which I have data, Wilson has more Pro Bowls as a replacement than any quarterback. The inflation is not disqualifying. Otto Graham, Sonny Jurgensen, Jim Kelly and Joe Namath are Hall of Fame quarterbacks with five Pro Bowls on their resumes. Kurt Warner, Bart Starr and Ken Stabler made it with four each. Wilson should get his due, but the prevailing 10-Pro Bowl narrative oversells his candidacy. In 2024 with Pittsburgh, Wilson was a Pro Bowl choice as a replacement despite starting only 11 games and ranking 23rd in EPA per pass play (not as misleading as Cleveland Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders becoming a Pro Bowl replacement after ranking 43rd out of 45 players with at least 100 attempts last season, but still not the same as Rodgers’ selections). What happened? The legs that helped make Wilson dynamic betrayed him as he aged and put on weight, exposing limitations in the rest of his game. This was especially true after Wilson left the Seahawks, a team that knew how to mitigate some of those limitations. Wilson saw himself as another Rodgers, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning: someone capable of running the offense as a coach on the field. The Seahawks never saw Wilson in that class. They saw his limitations in reading defenses and seeing the whole field. Wilson felt stifled and forced a trade to Denver. While the Seahawks were correct in their evaluation, the $245 million extension Wilson signed with the Broncos emboldened him. The proof was on the field. As Wilson faltered, the confidence that fueled him early in his career came off as delusional to his critics. Too few advocatesFormer teammates, including star cornerback Richard Sherman, thought Seahawks coach Pete Carroll coddled Wilson early in the quarterback’s career, leading to resentment from members of a defense that led the league in points allowed across an NFL-record four consecutive seasons. Wilson’s tenure with the Seahawks ended on bad terms after he clashed with Carroll and general manager John Schneider while seeking a bigger role in the offense. Some of these fissures are healing, but the relationship between Wilson and the organization, including key former teammates, is not helping his candidacy. Narrower Hall doorThe maximum five modern-era candidates (those retired for fewer than 25 years) earned enshrinement for 17 consecutive years through the 2024 class. The Hall thought that was too many, so it changed the math behind its voting. The result has been smaller classes, independent of factors that made Bill Belichick an omission this year. Flawed candidates can now have a tougher time. Even players with sterling credentials — Antonio Gates and Luke Kuechly are two recent examples — missed the cut initially before earning enshrinement. Two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Eli Manning has twice seen his candidacy stall at the finalist stage. The path for Wilson Overcoming Legion of Boom narrativeYes, Wilson needed a great defense and strong ground game to reach and win Super Bowls. He was 8-4 in the playoffs over his first five seasons, when Seattle ranked no worse than sixth in combined EPA on defense and special teams, but only 1-3 thereafter, as the team declined in those phases. Other quarterbacks can relate. Ben Roethlisberger was 10-3 in his first 13 playoff games, but only 3-7 thereafter. Roethlisberger, however, put up some of his best numbers later in his career, without the playoff success to match. It’s a team game. Truly elite peakAt Wilson’s peak entering 2020 and 2021, 90 out of 100 coaches and executives cast Tier 1 votes for him in my annual Quarterback Tiers survey. Those coaches and execs were evaluating Wilson after the Legion of Boom had gone bust, meaning they were grading Wilson apart from the cast around him. Brady, Rodgers, Drew Brees, Patrick Mahomes and (alas) Deshaun Watson were the only other Tier 1 quarterbacks over those two seasons. That’s elite company, and it affirms Wilson was among the very best, while at his best, and not only the beneficiary of a great defense. Transitional figureWilson led a generation of quarterbacks whose running ability was celebrated, not just tolerated, by coaches more willing to lean into dual-threat players at the position. Wilson ranks fourth among quarterbacks all time with 5,568 rushing yards. Passage of timeWilson’s historic collapse is fresh now as the final chapter of his playing career. Its prominence should fade with time, leaving Wilson’s decade-long tenure in Seattle as his most important body of work. AuthenticityAs Wilson heads for a role in television, he could help himself by sharing a more authentic side of himself. Who better than a genuine and honest Wilson to explain what happened late in his career? What humanizes Wilson can only help him, especially as it pertains to winning advocates among former teammates, coaches and executives. Finding the right historical compMost Hall of Fame candidates fit into two categories: slam dunks and those needing some explanation. The last 10 quarterbacks elected to the Hall of Fame as modern-era candidates could be instructive for Wilson. Brees, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Warren Moon, Dan Marino and John Elway all were in the top three in all-time passing yards when they retired. All but Moon were in the top three in passing touchdowns (fourth). No one is suggesting passing yards and passing touchdowns are advanced metrics, but in the cases of avowed top quarterbacks, it’s one way to separate them. The other most recent inductees at the position — Jim Kelly, Steve Young, Troy Aikman and Warner — ranked 18th on average in passing yards (Kelly was highest at 10th) and 25th in passing touchdowns (Kelly was highest at 13th) when they retired. Like Wilson, who ranks 16th in passing yards and 12th in passing touchdowns, their Hall cases were more nuanced. • Kelly helped Buffalo reach four consecutive Super Bowls while leading high-powered offenses. That made him unique. • Young was a two-time MVP and one-time Super Bowl MVP as the heir to Joe Montana in San Francisco. He threw a record six touchdown passes in a Super Bowl. • Warner was also a two-time MVP and one-time Super Bowl MVP. He took two suffering franchises to three total Super Bowls as a former grocery bagger in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and his story became a movie. • Aikman won three Super Bowls with the iconic Dallas Cowboys and was a Super Bowl MVP. He also was enshrined before statistics assumed their current prominent place in these discussions. While deep postseason pushes helped Kelly, Young, Warner and Aikman, Wilson’s case could rest on him being a high-end dual-threat QB. And he did win a championship. For now, Wilson is the former Seattle superstar who endured a disappointing end to his career. That’s not necessarily who he will be in five years, when Wilson becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame. The picture will be clearer then, and probably more favorable to his chances, despite the headwinds facing him now. |
| BRENDAN SORSBYAn uproar in college football as a Texas Tech judge says the NCAA has no ability to discipline incoming Texas Tech QB BRENDAN SORSBY, an admitted compulsive gambler. Instead, the NCAA and its member institutions must comply with his punishment of a two-game suspension. So if Soresby must be allowed to play Texas Tech, and can’t be punished, schools are scheming how to punish the Red Raiders for seeming to front Sorsby’s law suit. Mike Florio: Monday’s ruling in the Brendan Sorsby case has had ripple effects far beyond Texas Tech and the Big 12 conference. Pete Thamel of ESPN, citing three unnamed conference sources, reports that Big Ten officials “are expected to discuss in the upcoming days a league-wide mandate to not play Texas Tech in any sports.” Without reviewing the schedules of the various sports at the far more than 10 schools of the Big Ten, it’s impossible to know how much of this is real or performative. For example, no Big Ten teams are scheduled to play Texas Tech in football this season. And so pardon me if I view this as nothing more than a way to fuel the sudden outrage sparked by a ruling that was hardly a surprise. This isn’t the O.J. Simpson acquittal; everyone knew or should have known that Sorsby and Texas Tech had a real chance to get the relief they wanted from a state court, even after the local judge (who attended Texas Tech as an undergrad and as a law student) recused himself. “Don’t mess with Texas” is the slogan, and the NCAA was trying to keep a football player in Texas from playing Texas football. While it wasn’t a slam dunk that Sorsby would win, where were all of the many voices who are now wringing hands and gnashing teeth when the table was being set for the meal that was eventually served? Plenty of reporters and columnist treating the decision like a sneak attack on the integrity of all sport. Where was that outcry before the case was decided? Ditto for the various conferences, athletic directors, and coaches who are suddenly crowing, both on and off the record? Most notably, Kansas State Athletic Director Gene Taylor said on Monday — on the record — that the outcome is “fucking bullshit.” He could have said something like that while the case was still pending. It’s almost as if the various voices deliberately kept quiet when they sensed this was coming, so that they could then light the fuse on a national reaction that they hope will lead to the Congressional antitrust exemption the NCAA and its members crave. Without understanding why and how Judge Ken Curry reached his decision (and his four-page ruling doesn’t shed much light on the process), it’s impossible to know whether he got it right or got it wrong. Regardless, everyone who is expressing strong sentiments now could have made their voices heard in the weeks before Curry put pen to paper on Monday morning and signed the order restoring Sorsby’s eligibility. Georgia won’t be playing Texas Tech either. Trevor Michael of DawnOfTheDawg.com: Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks was feeling disgusted by this ruling, so he took to social media to let his true feelings be known. Georgia was one of two schools to make a drastic decision after the Sorsby ruling. They, along with Nebraska, decided to forbid all of their sports teams from playing Texas Tech in any sport. Their sports programs have been informed to not schedule Texas Tech under any circumstance, and if they already have them scheduled, or are in talks to schedule them, it needs to end immediately. Georgia and Nebraska may have started a trend that other programs are going to follow. After they announced this move other SEC programs began showing interest in following their lead. The Big Ten conference as a whole is even debating forbidding all of their teams from playing Texas Tech. With the Texas Tech judge protecting Sorsby from the NCAA, will he also have to protect Texas Tech from the wrath of the Big 12? There are clauses and codicils in the conference agreement that the Red Raiders could be deemed to have violated with the help of their judge. Florio: Good news? Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has regained his eligibility to play college football in 2026. Bad news? The Red Raiders could have no one to play against. Via Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, other Big 12 teams have considered refusing to play Texas Tech, if Sorsby is permitted to play after admitting to making bets on Indiana games when he was a member of the Indiana football team. “We’ve had some serious conversation about it,” Kansas State Athletic Director Gene Taylor told Dellenger. “There is still a lot to be discussed. We aren’t scheduled to play them this year, but it’s something we have to look at from a college football perspective. This is greater than the Big 12.” Taylor, who was on the record, pulled no punches. “It’s fucking bullshit,” Taylor told Dellenger. “I know the kid has a problem. Well, get well and focus on your problem. It is absolutely devastating for him to be able to play when every other sport, no matter the level, deems an athlete ineligible or they are punished severely for betting on their team.” Georgia Athletic Director Josh Brooks has taken it a step farther. “I think there needs to be serious conversations about not playing Texas Tech in any sports,” Brooks told Dellenger. “This is not about Texas Tech. It’s about protecting our own locker room. We cannot in good conscience put our student-athletes on a field where the competitive integrity of the contest is compromised and overridden by the courts. If a state court wants to dictate eligibility rules, they can play themselves.” A decision by individual teams to refuse to play Texas Tech would have wide-ranging repercussions and ramifications. Would those teams forfeit the games, giving Texas Tech a slew of wins? There would also be the issue of refunds of tickets and TV rights for games that aren’t played. More litigation would be inevitable. Our guess is that other Big 12 teams may huff and puff, but they won’t blow Texas Tech’s house down. Because they’d possibly be blowing their own house down, too. Still, the blowback could impact the inevitable appeal of the initial ruling. These calls are discretionary, and the four page ruling is very light on analysis and reasoning. More unrest in the Big 12 from Pete Thamel and Max Olson of ESPN.com, as well as some insight into the Jedi mind trick that longtime legal nemesis Jeffrey Kessler used to give the Texas Tech judge an out into doing Sorsby’s bidding: Florida AD Scott Stricklin told ESPN he was “stunned,” even recalling Major League Baseball’s 1919 “Black Sox Scandal,” when eight players from the Chicago White Sox took bribes to lose the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. “As someone who grew up reading about the ‘Black Sox Scandal,’ and seeing what happened to Pete Rose and just understanding how bright that line seemed to be in all of American sports, I’m stunned that there would be a question at the court level that this is acceptable,” Stricklin said. “That’s not a judgment on the young man. It’s just that was a pretty fundamental tenet of American sports, that if you’re going to participate, you can’t gamble, especially on your own team.” TCU athletic director Mike Buddie and Kansas State AD Gene Taylor both told ESPN that there has been informal chatter in the league about schools not playing Texas Tech this year. “We anticipate having conversations surrounding it,” Buddie told ESPN. “We’re all anticipating it, but this has not been formally discussed.” The Big 12 athletic directors are set to have a conference call Tuesday with commissioner Brett Yormark, according to sources, and in a statement made to ESPN, Yormark confirmed meetings will occur this week. It’s unknown how much purview the league would have, as the judge’s ruling is law. “The ramifications of today’s ruling are significant and could have broad impacts across college athletics, creating great concern amongst our membership,” Yormark told ESPN. “I’ve been consulting with our key stakeholders and have scheduled meetings with our conference ADs and executive board this week. We are also in touch with [NCAA president] Charlie Baker and anticipate the NCAA to appeal the order in the next 24-48 hours. We will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation.” Taylor said that there have been “side comments” about not playing Texas Tech in Big 12 meetings by a few athletic directors but acknowledged that it might not be an option. Taylor didn’t hold back with his opinions, calling it: “A sad day for not only college athletics, but college sports in general. I give him credit for admitting and seeking help for his addiction, but to put him back in a high-profile, stressful role with that type of an issue is not helping him. But I am not an addiction professional, so what do I know.” Utah athletic director Mark Harlan said in a statement that he was “disheartened” by the news, as Sorsby’s violations were “clear violations of NCAA policies and ethical guidelines.” He added that “we are all committed to supporting student-athlete well-being, but we also must have a definitive path forward that preserves the most basic tenets of competitive integrity in our industry.” The facts of the Sorsby case have been well established. The NCAA was alerted to Sorsby’s gambling in March after law enforcement tipped off a sportsbook. The organization notified Texas Tech of its investigation in April, and Texas Tech deemed Sorsby ineligible after he admitted to having a gambling addiction and went to an in-patient rehab center. While Texas Tech worked through process of attempting to get Sorsby reinstated, the quarterback lawyered up and sued the NCAA on May 18, seeking an injunction that would prevent the NCAA from banning him. Sorsby acknowledged he had wagered at least $90,000 on pro and college sports over the past four years, including 40 bets on Indiana football while he was a freshman with the Hoosiers in 2022. As the legal process played out, animosity simmered in the league. That boiled over on Monday, as Dykes called it “a bad day for college football.” Dykes said that he does not know Sorsby and wishes him the best. But the issue here is upholding the integrity of the game. “You would hope that there would be someone at some point that says, ‘Hey look, this is not a good thing for the game and I care enough about the game to not let this happen,'” Dykes, a Texas Tech graduate, told ESPN. “I think it’s sad that these adults and people who are supposed to guide college football aren’t guiding it. I think it’s a shame. Everyone is looking out for their self-interests. No one is looking out for what’s right in college football.” Dykes added that he’s worried his players might think it’s OK to bet on football now, as all they’ll see in headlines is that Sorsby bet and now he’s eligible. Attorney Jeffrey Kessler succeeded in framing Sorsby’s gambling history as a mental health and addiction issue and argued the NCAA was obligated to consider his well-being and support him rather than punish him. Retired Tarrant County Judge Ken Curry ruled in Sorsby’s favor, finding that the quarterback would suffer “irreparable injury” if he isn’t granted a temporary injunction allowing him to play for the Red Raiders this season. Lawyer Scott Schneider on the Big 12 constitution: Scott Schneider@EdLawDude1. The Sorsby issue may be a test of whether conferences can do what the NCAA increasingly cannot: enforce rules through membership governance. For the Big 12, the key provision is Bylaws § 3.6 – Sanction of a Member. 2. Under Big 12 Bylaws § 3.6, the Conference may sanction a member by a Supermajority of Disinterested Directors after notice and an opportunity to be heard. That matters because this can be framed as a Texas Tech member-conduct issue, not just a Sorsby eligibility issue. 3. The sanction trigger in § 3.6 is broad. It includes conduct “materially adverse to the best interests of the Conference taken as a whole” and any other action/inaction the disinterested directors determine “merits Sanctions.” 4. The Big 12 also has Bylaws § 1.3.2 – Adherence to NCAA Rules. That provision says members are committed to NCAA rules and policies, must demonstrate institutional control, and must be fully committed to compliance with NCAA and Conference rules. 5. So Texas Tech’s obligations do not begin and end with the Texas injunction. Big 12 membership carries separate obligations: NCAA compliance, Conference compliance, institutional control, and prompt/effective corrective action when violations occur. 6. The Conference can also rely on Bylaws § 1.4.1, which says a member’s right to receive conference revenue and participate in conference athletic events exists in accordance with the Bylaws and Rules, unless the member is subject to sanctions. This is why conference governance may be the future. The NCAA is vulnerable as a national regulator. Conferences have membership contracts, revenue leverage, championship access, and conduct-detrimental authority. That may be where enforceable rules can actually stick. |
