The Bryce Underwood episode is one of the things that the Michigan Wolverines fans are going to remember for the longest time. What a chase it was! And if reports are to be believed, the Name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal had a major bearing on Bryce’s flip to Sherrone Moore’s squad from Brian Kelly’s LSU, with the involvement of an astonishing amount of money. there were reports that the school had an offer on the plate for him that would pay $1.5 million annually for four years. It was a deal that the Wolverines were willing to surpass. So, they made Underwood an offer that was hard for him to refuse. Their four-year deal was reportedly worth $10 million, with some reports even claiming that he could make up to $12 million during his time in Ann Arbor. Indeed, Michigan went all-out to secure this as Moore took over from Jim Harbaugh. Guess how.
The collective that helped get the deal done for Underwood was Champions Circle. It turns out that billionaire Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle, was funding the venture, as revealed to Front Office Sports by Roger Ehrenberg, the co-founder of Champions Circle. In a statement originally released by Champions Circle chairman Nate Forbes, the tycoon was personally thanked. However, Bryce never spoke a word on the NIL aspect of his flipping. So what was his stand?Bryce said Michigan’s standing as an academic school helped sway his decision and declined later to answer a question about the NIL push. He also said the attention from Michigan alumni such as Tom Brady was “nice”, but he was more focused on the academic aspects. “Honestly, school,” Bryce said when asked why Michigan was the right fit. “School is a big thing as well. My education is everything and also me pushing my hometown school, my hometown big college, to the next level and to a couple of national championships.” His football future is set, but academic? Looks like some back-and-forth is still going on there!On February 7, the quarterback released a Q&A session on his YouTube channel. That’s when Underwood was faced with another question. The chit read, “What major will you choose at U of M?” Looks like the athlete is still in two minds. At first, he said, “Psychology or sports management um yeah either one of those two.” Underwood has developed a strong interest in psychology since he was in 10th or 11th grade. It’s an absolute WIN-WIN situation for the player to pursue his major. After all, the University of Michigan has a good psychology program. However, the QB changed his decision in a split second.