Billionaire Larry Ellison helped Michigan nab America’s top quarterback—and ushered in the richest recruiting flip in college football history

The 18-year-old quarterback’s arrival represents the culmination of a $12 million NIL deal that involved an unlikely alliance between Oracle’s billionaire co-founder Larry Ellison, seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy to sway the teenager to move to Ann Arbor instead of Baton Rouge, La., and join the Wolverines.

Michigan’s power play
Underwood’s recruitment started getting interesting when Portnoy publicly pledged to spend $3 million annually to help Michigan land a top quarterback. Portnoy revealed on his podcast last November he soon got a call from the Michigan football team.