The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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18 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JANUARY 2025 BY CHRIS BALAS F or years, Michigan recruit- ing has struggled to land the nation's most elite recruits, often unable to compete for top-10 players for various reasons. The advent of NIL (name, image and like- ness) changed the game for college foot- ball programs around the country, many paying directly for a player's services even though that wasn't the rule's intent. That all changed when the NCAA tried to come down on Tennessee foot- ball for extending financial offers to recruits. NIL was supposed to allow players to benefit financially by using their status to make money in market- ing, advertising, etc., the NCAA argued, not to " buy" players." But Tennessee disagreed, and the state attorney gen- eral filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA in January challenging its ban on the use of NIL compensation in the recruitment of college athletes. A judge responded with a temporary restraining order … and that was the first step toward Michigan landing Bel- leville (Mich.) High's five-star-plus quarterback, Bryce Underwood. Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore took the lead in continuing to recruit Underwood after he pledged to LSU last January, but it was a complete team ef- fort. The Champions Circle Collective, team general manager Sean Magee and increased booster support — one in par- ticular — all helped the Wolverines land one of the nation's most dynamic play- ers and the highest-rated quarterback ever from the state of Michigan. "Welcome Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 Recruit in the Nation," a Champions Cir- cle statement read. "We want to thank our founding members and others associated with Champions Circle who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make it possible to continue our work building championship teams at Michigan." "We are very excited to keep Bryce home in Michigan as he continues to build his legacy," founding member Nate Forbes said. "I want to person- ally thank Larry and his wife Jolin, who were instrumental in making this hap- pen by providing Champions Circle with invaluable guidance and financial resources." The aforementioned Larry is Larry Ellison, the co-founder and chief tech- nology officer of the software company Oracle, who is reportedly the fourth- richest man in the world according to Forbes magazine. His wife, Michigan alum Jolin, added, "I am a big fan of the University of Michigan and Michigan athletics. We are excited to support our student- athletes so they can go compete at the highest level in college sports." Thus, a "gift from the football gods," as one close to the situation said, al- lowing Michigan to compete at a differ- ent level than most schools, turning the tables on the SEC and others. While money obviously played a fac- tor, step one in landing Underwood, A NEW APPROACH Michigan's NIL Upgrade Helps Land Quarterback Bryce Underwood, The Nation's Top Recruit Belleville (Mich.) High's Bryce Underwood (with an unidentified young fan at his signing day cer- emony), signed an NIL deal with the Champions Circle collective that was backed by funding from Oracle founder and billionaire Larry Ellison, and his wife, Jolin, a U-M graduate. PHOTO BY CLAYTON SAYFIE