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On3's NIL team rankings show clear positive trend for Michigan

On3 imageby:Ethan McDowell•about 9 hours•

ethanmmcdowell

Sherrone Moore Mason Graham
Michigan Wolverines football head coach Sherrone Moore pulled defensive tackle Mason Graham, who posted 7 tackles, into his interview after beating Ohio State. (Photo by Lon Horwedel / TheWolverine.com)

Michigan finalized the No. 6 recruiting class in the nation Wednesday when it secured Ty Haywood’s commitment. The elite offensive tackle, who holds one of the highest NIL Valuations in the Wolverine class, helped the program jump three spots from No. 9 in On3’s team recruiting rankings. 

Five-Star+ quarterback Bryce Underwood, five-star tackle Andrew Babalola, four-star edge rusher Nate Marshall and Haywood all finished in the Top 50 of the 2025 recruiting class. They already rank highly in On3’s NIL Valuation metric thanks to their prestige as prospects. 

After signing eight Top 100 prospects in his recruiting cycle, Michigan’s average NIL Valuation ranks No. 5 nationally. Underwood’s personal valuation of $2.9 million helps with that. He already ranks No. 14 amongst all college and high school athletes. 

The Wolverines’ class boasts the second-highest NIL Valuation in the Big 10 at $228k. Oregon ranks No. 3 nationally, and the Ducks are the only team in the league ahead of Michigan. Alabama tops the nationwide list, with Texas and Georgia filling out the Top 5. 

Michigan’s 2024 recruiting class NIL Valuation ranked No. 21 nationally, and the Wolverines checked in at No. 40 during the 2023 cycle. General manager Sean Magee and the rest of the staff have clearly transformed the program’s approach to NIL. 

Here are the Top 10 average NIL Valuations nationally:

1) Alabama— $299k
2) Texas— $286k
3) Oregon— $279k
4) Georgia— $234k
5) Michigan— $228k
6) Tennessee— $197k
7) Ohio State— $178k
8) Auburn— $138k
9) LSU— $137k
10) Miami— $126k

This is On3’s explanation of how the NIL Valuation works. It is not meant to represent how much money athletes are actually receiving from the collective. 

Michigan’s staff, led by Magee, really revamped the program’s push into the NIL space over the past year. It played a significant role in the Wolverines’ flips of Underwood and Haywood. 

“The level of compensation that all individuals now have access to is phenomenal,” Magee said in a recent podcast interview. “It’s great. Across the board — not just here at Michigan but everywhere else across college football. This was a long time coming, the ability to be compensated for your name, image and likeness.

“Our hope is that at the end of the journey here at Michigan, whatever these numbers are, hopefully these are rounding errors for your later career. Could the potential to earn more in the short term at another place exist? Absolutely. Could the long-term value of the experience, the development, everything that you’re gonna have here … and again, the Michigan degree means something, a tremendous amount.”

College football is changing constantly, but it’s clear Michigan has bought into the evolving NIL landscape and will do what it needs to to bring elite talent to Ann Arbor.

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