When Terrelle Pryor entered the NFL through the 2011 Supplemental Draft, the NFL suspended him for five regular-season games.
The suspension mirrored the five-game suspension he was facing from the NCAA at Ohio State Buckeyes football for the memorabilia-for-cash and autograph violations that became known as part of the “Tattoo-Gate” scandal. The NFL ruled that Pryor had effectively circumvented the normal draft process and college discipline by entering the Supplemental Draft after becoming ineligible.
A few key details:
- Pryor was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the 3rd round of the 2011 Supplemental Draft.
- He was barred from practicing and playing during the first five weeks of the regular season.
- His suspension ended after Week 5, allowing him to join the active roster and practice.
The Pryor case is especially relevant today because many analysts have pointed to it as the closest precedent for what the NFL might do with supplemental draft prospect Brendan Sorsby if the league determines he is attempting to avoid NCAA-imposed discipline.
My prediction is Sorsby will be suspended for 5 games, matching the precedent set with Terrelle Pryor. The NFL has only once suspended a player for conduct that occurred entirely in college before entering the league, and Pryor received a five-game suspension after leaving Ohio State amid NCAA sanctions.
The NFL will probably want to show that betting violations matter. Sorsby’s case involves a much larger volume of bets than Pryor’s NCAA violations, including wagers connected to his college program. Reports indicate he placed thousands of bets totaling roughly $90,000 while in college. At the same time, he was not an NFL player when the conduct occurred, so the league’s harsher gambling penalties for NFL personnel betting on NFL games don’t neatly apply. Several analysts covering the situation have suggested the league could land in the 4-to-6-game range as a compromise between the Pryor precedent and modern gambling policies.
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