NCAA makes final decision on punishment in Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The University of Michigan and its football program learned on Friday of its punishment for its involvement in the Connor Stallions sign stealing case.
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The punishment is significant but will seem new and different from previous punishment precedent. The landscape of College Football has changed with NIL and revenue sharing, and thus, so must the way teams are governed.
The Punishment as rendered by the NCAA:
• 1 additional game suspension for HC Sherrone Moore (3 total game over 2 years)
• 4-year probationary period
• 14-week prohibition on recruiting communication
• 25% reduction in recruiting visits
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• $50,000 fine + 10% of the program’s budget (slightly more than $20M)
• Additional fines to equal their post-season revenue
• 10% reduction in scholarships for the 2025-26 season
• Jim Harbaugh received a “Show Cause” of 10 years
• Connor Stallions received a “Show Cause” of 8 years
• Sherrone Moore received a “Show Cause” of 2 years
• Michigan retains its 2024 National Title and vacates zero wins
Related: Michigan’s $12.5M QB deal raises red flags as possible NIL scandal unfolds
“Show Cause” for personnel that leaves virtually makes them impossible to be hired back into any position that falls under the leadership of the NCAA during that time. The term show cause requires those to answer for that transgression during the hiring process. Making them virtually not hirable until such status has been removed.
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The Show Cause for Sherrone Moore and the punishment overall simply means more eyes will be on Michigan, and they will be expected to adhere strictly to any and all rules for the immediate future.
The simplest way to view this punishment is as a tax. The NCAA is essentially taxing Michigan for winning a National Title by cheating. In the post NIL/revenue share era, the most significant way to deter rule breaking is to impose a financial penalty as opposed to one that removes wins or punishes players who might not have been involved.
The report released by the NCAA suggests that these violations would’ve typically carried a multiyear post-season ban. Since most of the perpetrators are no longer with the program crippling future recruiting and spending became the new precedent. Which is an interesting development.
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Pre NIL and pre revenue share, any transgression that led to significant sanctions up to and including future post season bans were almost universally believed to be unfair to the rest of the players as well as future players who had nothing to do with the violation in question.
The College Sports Commission will be at the forefront of violations like this moving forward, which should lead to a faster rending of verdicts. An issue that has been consistent with governing violations in the past. Case in point, the Connor Stallions investigation took 2 years to find its conclusion.
If the CSC develops a process to conclude investigating more quickly, its logically possible that coaches and players leaving the program would not happen quickly enough to absolve them of the related punishment.
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The NIL era has completely changed the landscape of college football, and governing violations will be no different. This Michigan ruling is likely the opening salvo of what will normalize monetary punishments over those that hamper or compromise future games, playoffs, or players.
The new paradigm might simply be to tax or garnish wages of teams who commit violations to impact their spending power, not whether they are permitted to play future games.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 16, 2025, where it first appeared.
