$12.5 million Bryce Underwood investment isn’t paying off for Michigan football

.5 million Bryce Underwood investment isn’t paying off for Michigan football

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.5 million Bryce Underwood investment isn’t paying off for Michigan football

$12.5 million Bryce Underwood investment isn’t paying off for Michigan football originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Every major athletic department across the country was given $20-plus million per year from the House settlement to negotiate directly with the players. Since then, there has been no real oversight. That is where the problem arose.

When NIL was first established, it was based on name, image, and likeness, allowing the athletes to negotiate with companies to help market their goods. The athletes couldn’t use the school colors or logos. When athletes began to receive big-name NIL deals, complaints surfaced that players weren't being seen in commercials and that it was under-the-table pay-for-play.

Now it seems like the Michigan Wolverines fan base and boosters have begun to get a bit agitated as they have not seen a return on their investment from star quarterback Bryce Underwood. When a player is ranked as the No. 1 consensus overall recruit in the country, as Underwood was for the class of 2025 from Belleville High School, he has not lived up to the Wolverines' football standard playing the quarterback position.

After the Wolverines suffered two back-to-back losses to teams that had not beaten them in years, questions are arising about the identity of the offense. Underwood didn’t help himself by turning the ball over on consecutive possessions during the Minnesota game, giving them good field position to score points and get their first win against the Wolverines since 2014. The Wolverines' loss against the Iowa Hawkeyes was the first in the Big House since 2010.

The Michigan faithful understand losses happen, but when those occur due to self-inflicted mistakes, the comments that started out as whispers begin to get louder and people start to speak out.

In the Iowa loss, the Wolverines drove the ball into the red zone several times and turned the ball over, scoring no points. The same occurred during the Minnesota loss. The offense turned the ball over several times, allowing the Gophers' offense to play on short field, which led to points in the second half of the game. Underwood's regression this season late in games isn’t acceptable to a fan base that expects their quarterback to put the team on his shoulders and make plays when everything else has failed.

The Wolverines' offense doesn’t have any answers, with no team identity insight, and the finger-pointing has begun. Michigan fans are questioning the plays being called and the leadership of head coach Kyle Whittingham after these losses. This is a far cry away from the days of Bo Schembechler, who led Michigan from 1969 to 1985.

Now that the NIL era has come and Underwood is being paid by the Champions Circle, this disastrous play can't continue, and it might be time to go in a different direction. Michigan is known for a blue-collar mentality and getting the job done. This is an instance where the Wolverines paid for something on several fronts where they have not seen a return on investment.

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