$12.5M Freshman Bryce Underwood Named Michigan’s Starting QB

Michigan will begin its 2025 football season with $12.5 million true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood under center, coach Sherrone Moore announced Monday.

“He’s earned the opportunity,” Moore said in publicly naming Underwood the Wolverines’ Week 1 starter. “It was not given to him. He took ownership of the team.” 

No. 14 Michigan hosts New Mexico at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, then travels to No. 18 Oklahoma on Sept. 6. Underwood, 18, was widely expected to become the starting quarterback after agreeing to a massive eight-figure NIL (name, image, and likeness) deal that helped flip his commitment from LSU to Michigan last November. Underwood played at Belleville High School, just outside of Ann Arbor, and was the No. 1–ranked recruit of the 2025 class.

The unprecedented NIL deal was funded by billionaire technology and media tycoon Larry Ellison. Last fall, the deal was believed to be worth at least $10 million over four years, and On3 has reported it could be as high as $12.5 million over that same time frame. LSU had been offering Underwood closer to $1.5 million annually in NIL money.

Michigan’s Next Chapter

Underwood’s highly anticipated college debut will come as Michigan deals with the fallout from the school’s sign-stealing scandal.

Michigan was hit with fines that will total at least $20 million, and Moore will serve a previously self-imposed two-game suspension that will see the Wolverines without their head coach for the Sept. 13 game against Central Michigan and the Sept. 20 matchup at Nebraska. The school has said that it intends to appeal the fines that were levied by the NCAA.