Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood walks to Michigan Stadium with his teammates before their game against Western Michigan at Michigan Stadium.
Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
After a nightmare offensive showing from Michigan football under Bryce Underwood, despite the bonkers 13-12 win over Western Michigan after two Hail Mary attempts, the quarterback has been targeted for his name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal. With the Michigan football team facing the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday in a pivotal game for Underwood, a former quarterback would take a nuanced look at the debate going on.
With Underwood having an up-and-down season with the Wolverines in his freshman season and throwing for 170 yards with a touchdown and pick in the opener, people are claiming that the reported $12 million NIL deal connected with him is bad.
On top of criticizing his play, Dan Orlovsky would speak on ESPN's “First Take” about understanding the takes around Underwood, but stating how “hard” it is for him to be critical, as “they are still college kids in my thought process.”
“Like you’re a college football player, so it’s hard for me to just go and try to just get on the young man and kill the young man for saying that,” Orlovsky said, via On3 Sports. “I do think NIL has muddied that picture because as much as I’m sitting here going, ‘This is a young man who’s probably 18 or 19 years old,’ he’s getting adult money. That muddies it for me. It does because, like, I understand that part of it.”
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Dan Orlovsky speaks more on Michigan football's Bryce Underwood
While understanding how some may not have sympathy for a player making that much money, he would put himself into Underwood's shoes.
“But then I’m also sitting there going, ‘I was a total idiot when I was 18 and 19 years old.' So I still want to be empathetic and sympathetic towards the young man. This is a very difficult kind of line for me,” Orlovsky said.
At any rate, it remains to be seen if the narrative changes around Underwood, starting Saturday in a prove-it game against the Sooners.