CINCINNATI — The University of Cincinnati has filed a lawsuit against former Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby, claiming he breached his NIL contract and refuses to pay the university back.
According to the lawsuit, filed Tuesday, Sorsby signed an 18-month, two-season NIL agreement with UC in July 2025. That "multi-million-dollar agreement" allowed the school to use Sorsby's NIL in promotional materials and activities, and elevated Sorsby as a representative of the university.
UC claims that Sorsby agreed that if he did not fulfill the whole term of the NIL agreement, for example transferring to another school before the 2026 season, he would pay the university $1 million in liquidated damages for breach of contract.
Five months after signing his contract with UC, Sorsby announced his intention to enter the NCAA transfer portal, later committing to Texas Tech and signing another NIL deal reportedly worth between $4-6 million.
The university said Sorsby's new deal "took into consideration (his) contractual obligation" to pay UC back. However, UC claims he has still not paid the university the $1 million in liquidated damages the two sides agreed upon.
According to the lawsuit, UC tried to contact Sorsby's representative to determine whether or when he would pay back the money owed, but the school was told "Sorsby refuses to pay the university anything."
"Sorsby has benefited greatly by the NIL agreement he entered into with the University, along with the University’s sustained efforts to promote him and help establish him as a top collegiate quarterback," UC says in its lawsuit. "Now, the University seeks to enforce its rights under that same agreement and to recover the amount Sorsby is contractually obligated to pay."
We reached out to Cincinnati Athletics, which said in a statement that it "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 Athletics intends to enforce that contractual commitment. As stewards of the university’s resources, the Athletics Department has a duty to do so," the statement also says. "We thank Brendan for his time at Cincinnati and wish him success in the future."
In the lawsuit, the university requests a jury trial for its recovery of damages.
