Brendan Sorsby, ranked No. 1 in The Athletic’s transfer quarterback rankings, transferred to Texas Tech earlier this week with one season remaining on a multi-year revenue sharing agreement with Cincinnati that includes a $1 million buyout clause, multiple people briefed on the deal told The Athletic. They were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the terms of the deal.

The buyout payment is due to Cincinnati within 30 days of Sorsby’s transfer. It is not immediately clear how Sorsby’s buyout will be resolved.

Texas Tech was aware of Sorsby’s buyout, according to sources briefed on the transfer process, and factored it into his recruitment, as well as Tech’s own revenue sharing budget.

Ron Slavin, Sorsby’s agent with Lift Sports Management, declined comment.

Spokespersons for both Texas Tech and Cincinnati declined comment.

There have been questions about how revenue sharing contract terms might hold up under legal scrutiny, in part because college athletes are not employees and their rev share contracts are not typical employment agreements.

The full details of Sorsby’s agreement with the Red Raiders are not public, but the one-year deal is expected to pay him more than $4 million, according to people briefed on the terms. His signing was officially announced Tuesday by Texas Tech.

A redshirt junior with one year of eligibility remaining, Sorsby elected to enter the transfer portal and ultimately sign with Texas Tech rather than declare for the 2026 NFL Draft, where he is projected as a potential Day 2 pick.

Brendan Sorsby is officially a Red Raider.#WreckEm pic.twitter.com/EGE4Xn1OIL

— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) January 6, 2026

Sorsby’s buyout is indicative of the new era of direct revenue sharing between schools and athletes under the House v. NCAA settlement, which was instituted last summer. Many schools have included buyout clauses in their rev share agreements that obligate athletes to redeem money to their previous school if they leave before the end of the agreement.

According to enforcement guidelines from the College Sports Commission, the organization that oversees revenue sharing, Sorsby’s $1 million buyout must be accounted for by Texas Tech within the school’s $20.5 million revenue sharing cap for fiscal year 2025-26. Texas Tech is not required to directly pay Cincinnati to cover the buyout costs.