Michigan football fans are cheering after top high school football recruit Bryce Underwood flipped his recruit from LSU to U of M, a move that may have been helped by NIL (name, image and likeness) deals and a billionaire.
What Happened: After winning the NCAA Football championship last season, the 2024 college football season has been disappointing for Michigan fans. The team currently has a 6-5 overall record, a 4-4 Big Ten conference record, and a lack of consistency at the quarterback position.
Michigan may have their answer to the quarterback problems with the top recruit in the nation, who happens to be a quarterback, now set to attend Michigan in the future.
Underwood, who attends Belleville High School in Belleville, Michigan, flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan with reports that an NIL package worth anywhere from $10 million to $20 million factored into the equation.
Helping the Michigan NIL collective Champions Circle land Underwood was billionaire Larry Ellison, according to a report from FrontOfficeSports.
Ellison, who is the co-founder and chief technology officer of Oracle, is the world's third-richest person, worth $206 billion according to Bloomberg.
"We are very excited to keep Bryce home in Michigan as he continues to build his legacy," Champions Circle chairman Nate Forbes previously said. "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."
Champions Circle later issued a new statement, which removed the Ellison reference, instead simply saying "Larry and his wife Jolin."
Champions Circle co-founder Roger Ehrenberg confirmed to FrontOfficeSports that it was "THE Larry Ellison" who was referenced.
"Jolin is a Michigan alumna who is super passionate about the University of Michigan Athletics and was critical support for the recruitment effort," Ehrenberg said.
Ellison divorced his fourth wife in 2010 and it was not previously announced that he had married again. The report said Ellison was photographed wearing a Michigan hat and sitting next to a woman wearing a Michigan hat at a 2022 tennis tournament.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who is a U of M alum, previously offered to help fund an offer for Underwood. While Portnoy celebrated in the announcement from Underwood, he also clarified his role in the NIL deal.
"I'm getting tons of credit online for flipping Bryce. While I love credit, reality is I played a tiny roll. Rest assured there are Michigan Men + Women out there making things happen behind the scenes. I've never been more confident that Mich is poised to dominate in this new world," Portnoy said.
Why It's Important: Ellison helping the University of Michigan Football team and also potentially getting secretly married could go down as big shocks in the world of sports and finance this week.
While helping chip in a couple million dollars won't be a big deal for Ellison given his wealth, it comes as he is also helping son David Ellison and his Skydance Media company merge with Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) (NASDAQ:PARAA).
As previously reported by Benzinga, Larry Ellison will become a controlling shareholder in the new media company after helping to finance the deal.
Much of Ellison's wealth is tied to his ownership stake in Oracle, estimated at 42% of the company in 2023, and a stake in electric vehicle company Tesla, where he previously served on the board of directors.
Ellison attended the University of Illinois, a Big Ten and Michigan rival, in the 1960s but did not graduate. Ellison also previously "rooted against University of Michigan sports teams" due to a breakup with a woman who went there, a previous report from the Tampa Bay Times said.
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Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia
