Report: Michigan's Bryce Underwood was highest-paid prospect in 2025 class

During On3's live coverage of the late signing period on Feb. 3, national recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong discussed the changes that Michigan has made in it's recruiting approach.

"Sherrone Moore hired Sean Magee to come in and be his general manager," Wiltfong said. "And the Wolverines, as the season continued, really started to change the way they were going to recruit and attack NIL to be a major player. Obviously, there were also some people outside of the program that greatly impacted Bryce Underwood and his decision to flip.

"...some heavy hitters, some billionaires [came] in, and show[ed] Bryce Underwood the type of earnings he could have if he stayed home and played quarterback at the University of Michigan.”

As Michigan's efforts to flip Underwood ramped up, several reports came out suggesting the offer that the Wolverines' financial backers had put together ranged from $5 million to $10.5 million.

NIL played a major role in Michigan landing the current No. 6-ranked recruiting class in this past cycle, beyond just Underwood. The Wolverines were competitive in offers to defensive lineman Nate Marshall and offensive lineman Ty Haywood, among others.

“I think the root of is, they are not going to lose on the NIL front anymore,” Wiltfong said. “They are going to have a loaded gun when they go into these blue-chip battles. Now Bryce Underwood almost doesn’t count — that was a another level of recruitment there. But a Nate Marshall, flipping him from Auburn down the stretch, getting Ty Haywood in the fold at the end of the cycle. And then when you flip Shamari Earls and Jordan Young. These are the type of recruitments that we haven’t seen Michigan win.”