After three years of cheating and a two-year investigation by the NCAA, the final punishments from Michigan's sign stealing scandal have been handed out to the Wolverines.
According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, the biggest punishments being given to Michigan are a $20 million fine and a one-game suspension for head coach Sherrone Moore, which is added to the self-imposed two-game suspension Michigan already gave Moore for weeks three and four of this season.
Sources: Among Michigan’s punishments in the NCAA COI ruling, per me and @danwetzel:
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 15, 2025
*Michigan receives a significant fine, expected to be more than $20 million, from loss of postseason football revenue for the next two seasons.
*Michigan coach Sherrone Moore is given an… pic.twitter.com/r7YD2CCUqq
On top of these punishments, former head coach Jim Harbaugh will face a 10-year show-cause and Connor Stalions will face an eight-year show-cause. Other than that, there really isn't any other significant punishment that was given to Michigan based on the NCAA's investigation.
Michigan was unable to do what Georgia did
This punishment really doesn't impact Georgia football in any way, but it is a great reminder that a blue blood program like Michigan couldn't do what Georgia did in the modern era of college football.
Whether or not someone agrees with these punishments is a different conversation, and whether this taints Michigan's National Championship is irrelevant at this point. But it is impossible to deny that Michigan did not nothing wrong en route to their 2023 National Championship.
Michigan wouldn't have self-imposed multiple punishments and the NCAA wouldn't have added to it if the Wolverines were completely innocent, so at the end of the day Michigan did cheat, just not as much as some made it out to be.
Georgia however didn't have to cheat to win their National Championships in 2021 and 2022. The Bulldogs were able to do things the right way and not have the NCAA and college football world breathing down their necks for two years after they won their titles. The only thing that people will remember about Georgia's titles is how great those teams were, there won't be stories of cheating tied to them like there are to Michigan's championship.
But potentially the greatest thing of all for Georgia is that they were able to beat Michigan in the College Football Playoff en route to their first National Championship. Michigan was running their sign stealing operation during this season, but it didn't matter as UGA still dominated them 34-11.
So Georgia's two National Championships, which already looked pretty nice, look even better now after this punishment given to Michigan by the NCAA.