Bryce Underwood is currently a high school senior. He goes to class like all of his peers. There’s a fair bet he hangs out with friends after school and on the weekends. He plays football for Belleville High School in Belleville, Michigan as the team’s starting quarterback.
Oh yeah, he was reportedly offered $10.5 million to continue his football career at the state’s flagship program, Michigan. According to TheWolverineOn3, Underwood was promised this NIL package to flip his commitment from LSU to the Wolverines.
Underwood is ranked as the No. 1 prospect nationally in his class by 247Sports. At 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, Underwood has a cannon for an arm. He’s also quite accurate with his passing ability and has the mobility to function as an elite dual-threat signal-caller.
Michigan has had some major quarterback struggles in 2024. Barring a major acquisition in the transfer portal, the same struggles will likely exist in 2025. This is where Underwood comes in.
He’s arguably the best quarterback prospect out of Michigan in decades. Perhaps most exciting is the fact he’s far from a finished product. There’s still plenty of upside to tap into as he matures physically.
Underwood recently visited LSU on an official visit. In the wake of that visit — where the Tigers presumably put their best foot forward — Michigan is upping the ante to the point where it could be impossible for Underwood to turn down such a lucrative package barring LSU matching or even surpassing it.
While the numbers being thrown out are interesting, this exact situation is why the NCAA needs some sort of structure in place to combat this ever-evolving situation where players are essentially free agents. Kudos to the players for getting that money. It’s more so a competitive imbalance where some programs can afford to splash this sort of cash, whereas most can’t.
