Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby’s NIL pay exceeds 13 NFL starters’ salaries

Jeff Hauser

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Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby’s NIL pay exceeds 13 NFL starters’ salaries image

Former Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby is headed to Texas Tech with a reported NIL package that exceeds the pay of more than a dozen NFL starters, showing the widening financial divide between elite college quarterbacks and the league’s lower-paid veterans.

Sorsby, the top player in the transfer portal, committed to Texas Tech after visiting Lubbock on Friday and Lane Kiffin and LSU on Saturday. A person with direct knowledge of the situation said Sorsby is expected to earn north of $5 million in NIL compensation, a figure first reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel.

That total is more than the 2025 salaries of at least 13 quarterbacks who started in Week 18 of the NFL season, according to Over the Cap. Among them: Denver’s Bo Nix ($4.6 million), the Giants’ Jaxson Dart ($4.2 million), Las Vegas’ Kenny Pickett ($3.5 million) and New Orleans’ Tyler Shough ($2.7 million). Several others on the list earned roughly $1 million or less.

A 6-foot-3 native of Denton, Texas, Sorsby threw for 2,800 yards with 27 touchdowns and five interceptions this season for the Bearcats. He will replace Behren Morton, who led Texas Tech to the College Football Playoff before a 23-0 loss to Oregon.

Sorsby’s deal reflects a transfer market where top quarterbacks command $4 million or more. Former TCU quarterback Josh Hoover committed to Indiana for more than $4 million, according to reports. Former Iowa State signal-caller Rocco Becht landed at Penn State, and ex-Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey pledged to Nebraska.

With donor-backed collectives driving spending, Sorsby’s move further illustrates how premium college quarterbacks can now out-earn a significant slice of the NFL’s starting ranks.

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Staff Writer