LSU Tigers See Massive Jump in NIL Resources Since Losing Elite QB Recruit

There may have been a bright side to the LSU Tigers massive recruiting loss.

Michael Brauner | Mar 13, 2025

Nov 23, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly reacts to a play against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Tiger Stadium. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

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In today's day and age of college football, teams and programs have to be cognizant of how they use resources.

While they seem limitless, they are in fact not.

One of the most high profile recruiting battles that pitted two powerhouses against each other saw the LSU Tigers and Michigan Wolverines compete for the best high school football player in the nation.

Ultimately, Bryce Underwood - a five-star quarterback from Belleville, MI who was committed to play for the Tigers for nearly a year - was swayed by a jaw-dropping and unprecedented NIL offer from his hometown Wolverines and decided to play in Ann Arbor.

Reports of Underwood's offer reached into the $10-12 million range, numbers which had largely been unheard of for a high school prospect.

At the time, the impact on LSU seemed it would be devastating. And while it still certainly could be, especially in the likely event Underwood turns into a superstar, there is at least some sort of silver lining amidst the chaos.

According to a story from Pete Nakos of On3 (subscription required), the Tigers' budget in the NIL department has more than doubled in the months since losing Underwood.

Nakos says this brings LSU north of the $18 million range, which would put the program squarely among the championship level teams they are trying to keep up with.

"It’s partially the reason why the Tigers were able to put together an elite portal class, and that’s carried over into the 2026 recruiting cycle," Nakos wrote. "If Bryce Underwood’s decision to flip to Michigan was a flashpoint, it’s resulted in a flush of NIL dollars. The resurgence in NIL comes as Brian Kelly enters a critical fourth season."

He went on to point out that LSU was able to bring in a top 10 portal class in large part thanks to their increased spending money.

LSU is always going to be a desirable place to play, and unless someone is doing something drastically wrong, it's a program that is always going to recruit at a high level.

But in this new era of college athletics, recruiting in the traditional sense is not enough.

Resources are needed, and only a select few have the resources to bring their talent acquisition from a high level to an elite level.

And in order to win championships and compete at the place where Tiger fans expect their program to be, something Brian Kelly is beginning to find out all too well, a staggering level of resources are required.

After losing the most gut wrenching recruiting war in some time, it seems like an urgent and desperate LSU is inching closer and closer to that level.

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