When the Union Can’t Save You

A college quarterback is betting his NFL future on a union that probably can’t help him. This labor-law lesson matters beyond football.

Brendan Sorsby was ruled ineligible by the NCAA after wagering roughly $90,000 on sports, including bets on his own team. After a court fight, he applied for the NFL’s Supplemental Draft. On June 23, the NFL declined to hold one, citing his “sustained pattern of improper gambling.”

His attorney says he will pursue the matter through the NFL Players Association’s collective bargaining agreement. The problem: he is not in the bargaining unit. The CBA covers signed players, former players seeking work, drafted rookies, and undrafted players in negotiations. Sorsby fits none of those categories.

An antitrust “group boycott” claim would likely fail too. The non-statutory labor exemption protects the collectively bargained draft from antitrust attack.
To me it’s clear: a union’s power runs to its bargaining unit, and stops there. Being adjacent to a CBA is not the same as being covered by one.