The NFL supplemental draft has spent years in near-total obscurity — a footnote in the league calendar that most fans had completely forgotten about. That’s all changed in 2026, as Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby’s dramatic eligibility saga has thrust the supplemental draft back into the spotlight. With his application now filed just ahead of the June 22 deadline, NFL teams are scrambling to understand how the supplemental draft order works and whether a 2027 pick is worth burning on a player who never played a snap under his new coaching staff.
What Is the NFL Supplemental Draft?
The NFL supplemental draft is an alternate draft mechanism designed to give players who were not eligible for the regular April draft — due to sudden loss of college eligibility or other circumstances — a pathway into the league. It has been around since 1977, making it one of the older institutions in professional football, though one that has been used only sparingly in recent decades.
Unlike the main draft, which takes place every spring in a high-profile three-day event, the supplemental draft is held in late summer, typically in July or August. There is no set date guaranteed on the calendar — the NFL only holds the supplemental draft when approved, eligible prospects are available to be selected. For context, the last time the NFL actually held a supplemental draft with a player selection was in 2019, when the Arizona Cardinals picked safety Jalen Thompson with a fifth-round bid. A supplemental draft was technically held in 2023, but no teams selected either of the two available players — Jackson State’s Malachi Wideman and Purdue’s Milton Wright.
How the Supplemental Draft Order Is Determined
This is where the supplemental draft differs most sharply from the regular April draft. Rather than simply reversing the standings, the supplemental draft uses a tiered lottery system to establish the order.
Teams are divided into three groups based on their record from the previous season:
- Tier 1: Non-playoff teams with six or fewer regular-season wins
- Tier 2: Non-playoff teams with more than six regular-season wins
- Tier 3: Playoff teams
Within each tier, a weighted lottery determines the order, with teams that had the worst records receiving the best odds of securing an earlier pick position. This means the worst team in the league gets the most favorable positioning — but unlike the regular draft, it still isn’t guaranteed.
For the 2026 supplemental draft, the order would be based on the 2025 NFL season standings. That places the New York Jets — who finished with just three wins last season — at the top of the supplemental draft order, giving them the first opportunity to bid on any available player.
How the Bidding System Works
The supplemental draft does not operate like a traditional pick-by-pick selection. Instead, teams submit blind bids, each indicating the round in which they would be willing to select a given player. The team with the bid in the highest round and the highest draft position within that round is awarded the player.
Critically, whichever round a team uses to bid in the supplemental draft, they forfeit that same round’s pick in the following year’s regular NFL Draft. So if a team submits a second-round bid and wins, they give up their second-round pick in the next April draft.
The draft runs seven rounds. If no team submits a bid for a player through all seven rounds, that player simply becomes an undrafted free agent and can sign with any team.
The Brendan Sorsby Situation: Why the Supplemental Draft Is Back in the News
The entire conversation around the 2026 supplemental draft order is dominated by one name: Brendan Sorsby. The Texas Tech quarterback — a former five-star recruit who threw 27 touchdown passes for Cincinnati last season before transferring — finds himself at the center of an NCAA gambling investigation that has upended his college football future.
According to CBS Sports, Sorsby placed thousands of online bets dating back to 2022 while enrolled at Indiana, including bets on Indiana football games in which he did not play. The NCAA forbids active college athletes from betting on sports, and following a denied reinstatement request, Sorsby’s path back to the college field appeared increasingly blocked.
After a Texas court initially granted him a temporary injunction restoring his eligibility, the Big 12 Conference filed a lawsuit in a Dallas federal court to sanction Texas Tech if Sorsby played, and the NCAA simultaneously filed an appeal of the injunction. Facing a June 22 deadline and with Texas Tech reportedly wavering under legal pressure from the conference, Sorsby made the decision to apply for the NFL’s supplemental draft — a move confirmed by NFL Network.
His 35-day inpatient rehabilitation program for his gambling addiction at Algamus in Goodyear, Arizona was completed prior to his application. Whether the NFL approves his entry is the next significant hurdle — the league is not obligated to accept every application.
What Round Could Sorsby Be Selected?
The stakes for any team selecting Sorsby are significant. Selecting him in the 2026 supplemental draft means giving up the corresponding pick in the 2027 NFL Draft — a class that scouts and executives are already calling one of the strongest in years. According to CBS Sports, only one team traded a top-three-round pick during the entire 2026 draft weekend, underscoring just how much value teams place on their 2027 capital.
Despite that, NFL insider Tony Pauline of Essentially Sports reported that if Sorsby enters the supplemental draft, he is likely to be taken with a late first-round or early second-round bid. A first-round bid in the supplemental draft has not been used since 1992, and the last time a second-round pick was spent was in 2012 when the Cleveland Browns selected Josh Gordon.
Teams widely viewed as potential suitors include:
- New York Jets — Hold the top spot in the supplemental draft order with the worst record from 2025. Their quarterback depth behind Geno Smith is limited, making Sorsby an intriguing option.
- Miami Dolphins — Did not select a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft, leaving a developmental need that Sorsby could theoretically fill.
- Arizona Cardinals — A franchise in rebuild mode with a new head coach looking for long-term answers at quarterback.
- Cleveland Browns — Carrying ongoing uncertainty at the position despite adding Taylen Green and retaining Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel in the room.
- Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts — Both cited as teams that may not have clear routes to a top quarterback in the next couple of drafts and could view a mid-round 2027 bid on Sorsby as worthwhile.
Historical Context: Notable Supplemental Draft Picks
The supplemental draft has produced some genuinely significant NFL careers over the decades, even if it has largely faded from relevance in the era of NIL and expanded college eligibility:
- Cris Carter (1987) — Perhaps the greatest supplemental draft success story ever. The Ohio State wide receiver was ruled ineligible before his senior year after signing with an agent. The Philadelphia Eagles took him in the fourth round of the 1987 supplemental draft, and Carter went on to become a Pro Football Hall of Famer and eight-time Pro Bowler.
- Bernie Kosar (1985) — The Cleveland Browns maneuvered to select the quarterback out of Miami, helping spark one of the franchise’s most successful periods.
- Josh Gordon (2012) — The Browns used a second-round bid to land Gordon, who became one of the most electric receivers of his era before off-field issues derailed his career.
- Terrelle Pryor (2011) — The Ohio State quarterback entered the supplemental draft following an NCAA suspension, landing with the Raiders. The NFL mirrored his five-game NCAA suspension that same season.
- Jalen Thompson (2019) — The most recent player actually selected. The Cardinals bet a fifth-round pick and got strong value in return: Thompson has started 72 of 84 career games, recording 483 tackles and nine interceptions over six seasons.
Only 46 players in total have ever been selected in the supplemental draft since 1977.
Why the Supplemental Draft Has Faded — Until Now
The increasing rarity of the supplemental draft is no accident. The dramatic expansion of NIL rights, transfer portal freedom, and courts repeatedly siding with athletes in eligibility disputes has reduced the number of players who find themselves stranded between college and the NFL. In the world of modern college football, a player who might once have had a suspension or eligibility ruling force them out of school entirely now has far more options to stay enrolled, earn money, and preserve NFL draft eligibility through the traditional April process.
Over the last decade, only three players have been selected in supplemental drafts: two who were ruled academically ineligible (Sam Beal in 2018 and Adonis Alexander in 2017), and Jalen Thompson in 2019. The 2025 NFL supplemental draft was canceled outright because no eligible players had applied.
Sorsby’s gambling investigation represents a different kind of eligibility crisis — one that stems from a mental health issue and a violation of NCAA conduct rules rather than academic standing or benefits violations.
What Happens Next
With Sorsby’s application submitted before the June 22 deadline, the NFL must now review his case and determine whether to approve his entry into the supplemental draft. That review will examine the extent of his gambling conduct, his progress in treatment, and whether any NFL suspension — similar to the five-game ban applied to Terrelle Pryor in 2011 — would be imposed alongside his selection.
If approved, a supplemental draft will be scheduled for sometime in July, giving teams a brief window to evaluate Sorsby and submit their blind bids. If not approved, Sorsby would need to wait until the 2027 NFL Draft to enter the league through standard channels — which, ironically, might end up being the better outcome for his draft stock given how highly regarded that class already is.
Are you keeping a close eye on the Brendan Sorsby supplemental draft saga? Drop your predictions in the comments — which NFL team do you think will make the bid?