Why Michigan's flip of Bryce Underwood from LSU is credited with NIL reform at major SEC programs
Bryce Underwood's flip from being an LSU commit to becoming the face of the Michigan Wolverines after a massive NIL investment has changed the game for multiple programs. While the on-field impact of getting such a talent is almost priceless, few expected to see the rippling effects that the recruitment process caused across multiple conferences. […]
Bryce Underwood's flip from being an LSU commit to becoming the face of the Michigan Wolverines after a massive NIL investment has changed the game for multiple programs. While the on-field impact of getting such a talent is almost priceless, few expected to see the rippling effects that the recruitment process caused across multiple conferences.
Landing the 5-star quarterback required the Wolverines to get its own funding situation more organized, and their previous lack of attention to the manner likely cost them targets over the last few years.
At least the Wolverines were able to leverage its justified desperation for Underwood in time to keep the local star in town. For LSU and other SEC rivals, it was a wake-up call they weren't seemingly expecting.
On3's Pete Nakos went so far as to say, "If Bryce Underwood’s decision to flip to Michigan was a flashpoint, it’s resulted in a flush of NIL dollars." In his piece about the NIL landscape affecting how programs are retaining coaches on the hot seat in favor of buying them out, he references how LSU had to double its NIL pockets since losing Underwood.
Meanwhile, Underwood will be on the cover of College Football 26 this summer.
Schools like LSU, Florida, Auburn, and Oklahoma are learning that retaining talent can be as easy as cutting the biggest check. Michigan also went through that but thankfully beat LSU to the punch with Underwood.
“It’s not just about finding the right fit where you can develop holistically and graduate and play for a championship,” Kelly said on Early National Signing Day in December. “It’s about [what’s] the most money I can get, and that’s unfortunate. But it’s the world we live in, and you have to be able to adapt, and you have to be able to realign and be prepared.”
