The college football recruiting world is still abuzz with the shocking news of five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood's flip from LSU to Michigan. The news put even more heat on Tigers head coach Brian Kelly, who is having a disastrous month of November.
For first-year head coach Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines, though, Underwood is a huge pickup for the 2025 recruiting class. Not to mention, this is one of the first big flips Moore can call fully his own—most of Michigan's 2024 class committed under former coach Jim Harbaugh.
Why did Underwood ultimately flip? There are various reports about Michigan's NIL collective, called Champions Circle, which is said to be at the heart of the flip. Let's take a look at the big names involved in the Champions Circle, who was involved in Underwood's flip, and what it could mean for Michigan's recruiting future.
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Bryce Underwood NIL money detailsUnderwood's flip isn't exactly coming cheap. According to CBS Sports' Dennis Dodds, the rumored deal from Michigan is around $10 million. The New York Post reported the exact figure to be $10.5 million. According to The Advocate, LSU's NIL deal offer to Underwood was around $1.5 million.
As far as the people responsible for the flip, Moore deserves a lot of credit. Per CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz, Underwood took a secret visit to Ann Arbor on Monday and Tuesday, where he shadowed Moore at practice, sat in on meetings and learned more about Michigan overall.
Zenitz adds that Underwood developed a relationship with former Wolverines star and future NFL Hall of Famer Tom Brady, which also contributed to the flip.
One other organization that apparently was crucial in pulling this off: Michigan NIL collective Champions Circle. Some of the big names involved with the collective include Michigan booster Nate Forbes — managing partner of The Forbes Company — as well as boosters Jolin and Larry Ellison. The Champions Circle released a statement following Underwood's commitment naming all three people:
Welcome Bryce Underwood, the #1 Recruit in the Nation
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.
Founding Member and Chairman, Nate Forbes, said: “We are very excited to keep Bryce home in Michigan as he continues to build his legacy. I want to personally thank Jolin and Larry Ellison who were instrumental in making this happen by providing Champions Circle with invaluable guidance and financial resources.”
We encourage all parties who have publicly expressed interest in assisting Michigan’s NIL’s efforts to join the 11,000 individuals who have contributed to Champions Circle. For any fan wishing to support our efforts to keep Michigan the Leaders and Best, please contribute through our “Those Who Stay (Home)...” fundraising campaign.
Larry Ellison is a billionaire and co-founder of Oracle. He's reportedly the second-richest man in the world. Although he is originally from New York and grew up in Chicago, he apparently was instrumental in Underwood's flip. It's unclear of his connection to the school other than the recent recruitment of Underwood. (Note: At this time, the identity of Jolin is unclear.)
One other name reportedly involved is Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports. Although it's unclear if he was involved financially in any way, the Michigan alumnus stated he spoke with Underwood and his family during the process.
"Everyone's like 'Dave, how much were you involved?' Listen, there are a lot of other factors. ... Was I involved in a call with the family? Are they lovely people? Did we pitch a plan? Of course, we did," Portnoy said.
What is Champions Circle?Champions Circle is Michigan's NIL collective, which assists athletes across all sports for the Wolverines. Here's what the collective's "Who We Are" page reads:
Champions Circle® is a community of fans, alumni, and supporters whose goal is empowering University of Michigan student-athletes to be the leaders and best through name, image, and likeness.
Champions Circle® is committed to operating within the NCAA and university guidelines, to ensure Michigan remains at the forefront of college athletics. Champions Circle® partners with Valiant Management Group (VMG) to hold our NIL events and help with fundraising and marketing activities.
There are numerous board members also listed on the website, including Forbes. According to a list of top NIL collectives put together by On3Sports, Champions Circle is 13th nationally. Per On3, each collective included were estimated to spend over $200 million this year.
Larry Ellison net worthEllison co-founded the Oracle Corporation, a multinational computer technology company, in 1979. According to Forbes, his net worth is right around $235.3 billion—yes, that's billion, with a b. Forbes lists Ellison second on their list of billionaires behind Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX founder.
Dave Portnoy net worthPortnoy, who founded Barstool Sports in 2004, has a reported net worth of around $150 million.
What Underwood's flip means for MichiganIn Michigan's first season without Jim Harbaugh, it's no secret that the Wolverines have struggled at quarterback. Michigan has gone back and forth between Davis Warren and Jack Tuttle. With just two games left against Northwestern and Ohio State, the Wolverines are not yet bowl eligible with just five wins.
As Sporting News' Bill Bender notes, Underwood is Michigan's the highest-rated highest-ranked quarterback per 247Sports, and is just the fifth five-star signal-caller the Wolverines have recruited since 2005. The last two were Chad Henne in 2005 and Ryan Mallett in 2007.
Regardless of how the deal was done, this is a ginormous recruiting win for Moore and Michigan, and it puts the Wolverines right back in the playoff and Big Ten title conversation for 2025.
