The 2025 Michigan football team is still searching for its starting quarterback, and there is a chance it might not be the top incoming recruit, Bryce Underwood. However, Underwood is already among the biggest names in college football due to his ranking and the amount of money he commanded to switch to the Wolverines. Now, he is already cashing in on that brand appeal.
On Tuesday morning, Beats by Dre announced its Beats Elite class of 2025, which included potential Michigan football starter Bryce Underwood among its nine members for the college football season. The NIL partnership means Underwood “will be featured in national marketing campaigns and will receive custom Beats headphones” in Michigan's colors with the Block M. The official press release mentions that all athletes will be featured in marketing campaigns and receive custom headphones.
“Throughout the year, Beats Elite athletes will be featured in national marketing campaigns and will receive custom Beats headphones featuring their universities' iconic marks,” reads a press release from the company. “This unique integration of school branding into product design is made possible through a continued collaboration with Learfield, marking the second year of the award-winning partnership.”
It is worth noting that Underwood is the only true freshman among the nine members for 2025 and the only player who has not taken a single snap yet. The Beats by Dre collaboration might signal good things to come for Michigan football and Underwood because JJ McCarthy was featured in 2023, the year the Wolverines broke through and won a national championship.
Then, in 2024, the Wolverines had another player among the Beats by Dre group, cornerback Will Johnson, who was featured prominently and, despite getting injured, was picked in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
“As we've worked with our initial college athletes, we've realized how important it is for them to have brand support at that level,” Aminah Charles, Beats' head of sports marketing, said. “The industry is moving toward truly empowering college athletes, so we wanted to take a bigger swing in this area.”
Bryce Underwood has massive expectations for college football because this happened before he took a snap at the college level. Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines brought in Mikey Keene as a transfer from Fresno State for added quarterback depth, and there is a chance Keene will still win the job.
However, based on recent reporting, despite nothing official yet, Sherrone Moore seems to be leaning towards Bryce Underwood as the starting quarterback for the 2025 Michigan football team.
