Star Michigan QB Uses Lucrative NIL Deal To Give Back in Awesome Gesture

Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood made waves with top NIL deal and used those funds to gift his high school mentor.

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Michigan Wolverines freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood shocked the college football world when the No. 1 overall high school recruit flipped his commitment with a massive NIL deal.

As the five-star quarterback settles in as an early enrollee with the Wolverines, Underwood is using one of his name, image, and likeness partnerships to give back to a cornerstone figure in his life.

Underwood recently made headlines for surprising his former Belleville Tigers high school security guard and mentor, Mychal Darty, with a new 2025 Chevrolet Equinox SUV through his NIL deal with Feldman Automotive Group.

As CBS Sports reports, Underwood invited Darty to Belleville High a few weeks ago under the guise of an interview showing their relationship and bond, where he surprised Darty with the new car.

"Just how awesome of an opportunity is it as a 17-year-old to be able to give back to someone who means a lot to you?" Underwood said. "Honestly, I feel like that's God's blessing; he put me on this earth to give back to the people that I love."

Underwood captured the incredible exchange and posted it on his social media accounts.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bryce Underwood (@19bryce.__)

"Nothing but excitement coming from me, you know he really didn't know how to react, so it was just like a blessing, a dream come true, honestly just being able to give back to the people that didn't even ask for anything out of me," Underwood said.

The two met before Underwood had begun playing football and would meet frequently throughout the day, where Darty served as a mentor and lent an ear.

"I feel like a lot of the athletes just need someone they can come talk to," Darty said.

Darty always saw a great kid in Underwood, and their bond has only grown stronger by the day. 

This was before I had ever seen him throw a football," Darty said. "He had a good head on his shoulders, and from there, our relationship grew."

Darty might not have envisioned his small talks between classes with a kid would leave such a mark but sees this gesture by Underwood as symbolic of who he is as a human being. 

"That means I had an impact on somebody who's had an impact on so many people already. Like he's had an impact on our entire community, and to know that I had a big impact on him, where he was willing to do something like that for me, it makes me feel good as a person," said Darty.

This story shows how NIL can be used for acts of kindness and the importance of relationships in young college football players lives as they grow through their formative years.

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