The Michigan Wolverines pulled off the recruiting move of the year when they flipped No. 1 recruit Bryce Underwood away from LSU. Underwood’s decision to play for his hometown school rather than the Tigers is assumed to be very much a financial one. The question many people have wondered is just how much money Michigan agreed to pay Underwood in an NIL deal to land him.
We don’t know exactly how much Michigan paid to convince Underwood to change his commitment, but there are some reports about the amount.
Last week, ESPN Baton Rouge radio host Matt Moscona said he was told Michigan agreed to pay Underwood $12 million.
I’m told Michigan got to $12 Million for Underwood.
A Godfather offer, indeed.
— Matt Moscona (@MattMoscona) November 22, 2024
The amount is unconfirmed, but has since been reported elsewhere.
Barstool's Dave Portnoy did a marketing deal with Bryce Underwood to get him to flip to Michigan.
Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison ponied up a reported $12 million.
Tom Brady got on the phone with Underwood.
This is now the craziest recruitment of all time.
— Adam Gorney (@adamgorney) November 26, 2024
Since Underwood announced his commitment change, more information has come out. Michigan thanked billionaires Jolin and Larry Ellison for coming up with the funds to land Underwood. The Ellisons partnered with Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy to make the deal possible.
Portnoy, who is a multi-millionaire himself, previously had stated he would pay a few million dollars per year to get his alma mater Michigan a top quarterback. The reported $12 million amount would break down to $3 million per year — right in the range of what Portnoy had discussed.
Not much information is made public about how much top athletes are earning through NIL deals. However, we do have some reference to see if the $12 million amount might check out.
In 2023, Jaden Rashada received a $13.85 million offer to sign with Florida. Rashada asked to be released from his letter of intent after Florida’s collective allegedly failed to deliver on the funding it had promised. Rashada later went to play at Arizona State and then transferred to Georgia.
$12 million is a lot of money for an unproven player. But Portnoy and Jolin Ellison are showing us what can happen when wealthy fans get involved.
