Why Michigan will appeal the NCAA's punishment, and what happens next

Michigan will appeal the NCAA's recent ruling against the school in the football signals saga, and now we know why, and what will come next.

What's next as Michigan is set to appeal the NCAA's ruling against the football team over the sign-stealing mess. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Michigan learned its fate this week after the NCAA revealed its full punishment for the Wolverines football program in the wake of the sign-stealing controversy.

As expected, Michigan will appeal that decision.

The reason? It all comes down to the exorbitant amount of money the school will be forced to hand over to the NCAA as part of its verdict, an unprecedented figure that could eclipse the $30 million mark when all is said and done.

“It’s about the severity of the financial penalties,” The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach said in an X post.

The previous record for an NCAA penalty came against Tennessee, which paid upwards of $8 million in fines in 2023 stemming from widespread recruiting violations that took place under head coach Jeremy Pruitt.

Now, Michigan could potentially end up paying an amount nearly four times that figure, an unprecedented financial penalty.

Those fines start out modestly enough, as the NCAA levied a straight $50,000 tax, but the number increases dramatically from there.

Michigan will pay up to 10 percent of its football budget, 10 percent of the cost of its football scholarships for this season, and will lose all postseason competition revenue sharing for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

Conservative estimates value the postseason money at $20 million, while other industry insiders speculate the figure to surpass the $30 million mark.

Michigan said it “appreciate[s] the work of the Committee on Infractions.”

“But...” the school continued...

“... Respectfully, in a number of instances the decision makes fundamental errors in interpreting NCAA bylaws; and it includes a number of conclusions that are directly contrary to the evidence -- or lack of evidence -- in the record.”

The school added: “We will appeal this decision to ensure a fair result, and we will consider all other options.”

Appeals to the NCAA could take some time. The average Committee on Infractions appeal process takes roughly eight months from start to finish, according to the NCAA itself.

Michigan has 15 days from the decision to declare its intent to appeal, which it will formally do very soon, and what follows is a 30-day deadline to file the written appeal.

Then comes a typical 30-day response wait time from the NCAA after the written appeal is submitted.

After that, a 14-day deadline goes into place for each party to file a rebuttal, followed by a 10-day window where the NCAA can submit its own materials.

Michigan can respond 10 days later, followed by two months of verbal back and forth before the Infractions Appeals Committee.

From there, the Infractions Appeals Committee releases its decision six weeks later.

Which means we’re far from done from a complete resolution, while Michigan’s bank account hangs in the balance.

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