The fascinating true story behind Netflix's Untold: Sign Stealer, explored

Netflix’s Untold: Sign Stealer explores the story of Connor Stalions, a former staff member of the University of Michigan Football team. In 2023, the Michigan Wolverines were accused of engaging in ‘sign-stealing’ that violated NCAA regulations, bringing forth an investigation from the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Sign stealing in itself refers to the practice of trying to identify hand signals used by other teams’ coaches in order to decipher them. It became a problem after no-huddle offenses have become commonplace in the 21st century.

Connor Stalions, a staff member of the Michigan Wolverines, was accused of attending more than 30 games at 11 different Big Ten Schools in order to afford his team an advantage. Stalions would use electronic devices and a detailed paper trail in order to identify hand signals used by coaches as well as their meanings.

While the former defensive coordinator has himself resigned from his position, an investigation into the matter is still going on.

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Connor Stalions is at the center of Netflix’s Untold: Sign Stealer

Despite Stalions’ own resignation, the investigation has been ongoing, and until now, no direct evidence has been found linking the head coach Jim Harbaugh, or any of his coaching staff with the 'sign stealer' scandal. However, Harbaugh was banned by the Big 10 in November 2023 for the final three games of last season.

Further, linebackers coach Chris Partridge was also fired for instructing players on how to answer questions related to the sign-stealer saga. Regardless, further action can be expected considering the kind of attention the scandal has received of late. That of course, is also in the form of the story becoming a part of Netflix’s Untold series.

The episode was released on August 27, 2024, and includes interviews from Connor Stalions himself. A Michigan native, Stalions is a former Michigan player himself and volunteered for the Wolverines for several seasons before being hired as an off-field analyst in May 2022.

In October 2023, allegations first emerged, that claimed that Stalions was part of an elaborate sign-stealing operation for Michigan football in order to help his team gain a competitive advantage. He was known to have purchased tickets during this period for at least 35 games, spread over 17 different stadiums.

Further, he attended games of 12 of Michigan’s Big Ten rivals, and used his own name in order to buy the tickets. Stalions claimed in the documentary that sign-stealing was a general practice which other teams engaged in as well, and was seen claiming the following in a trailer for Untold: Sign Stealer.

"If I'm a bad guy, then everyone in football is a bad guy."

The documentary sees the under-fire former employee revealing his side of the story and is the first time Stalions himself has taken to a public platform in order to address the allegations against him, via Sign Stealer.

Regardless, his attorneys have claimed that any evidence against him, which includes spreadsheets and other handwritten notes, have been obtained illegally through hacking and cannot be used against him. Further, the investigation has also led to ‘sign-stealing’ being proven as a common practice in the sport, something which might require further rule changes in order to avoid it in the future.

Hence, as the case stands, there is little to no clarity over how the NCAA might proceed with respect to Connor Stalions. On one hand, he has been proven to be involved in the scandal. On the other, the practice itself might be utterly common in the entire league.

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Untold: Sign Stealer is now available to watch on Netflix.