UNC-Chapel Hill Hires Bill Belichick as Head Football Coach in $50M Deal
Will Belichick create a NFL Feeder System that generates new revenues for college football?
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill formally introduced Bill Belichick as its head football coach at a Thursday press conference after negotiating a $50 million contract over five years.
It’s Belichick’s first time coaching college football after 24 years with the New England Patriots of the National Football League.
He led the Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances and six victories and won an additional two championships as an assistant coach with the New York Giants for an NFL-record of eight Super Bowl wins. He started his pro coaching career as an assistant with the then-Baltimore Colts in 1975.
UNC announced the decision on Wednesday. Belichick is replacing Mack Brown, who was fired from the head coach position last month.
“I’ve always wanted to coach in college football, and it just never really worked out,” Belichick said. “I had some good years in the NFL, so that was okay, but this is really a dream come true.”
The contract allows for a salary of $10 million each year, a colossal, but far from unprecedented, amount for college football. Only seven college football coaches made more than $10 million in 2024.
Those coaches include Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, whose salary of $11.13 million is second only to Georgia coach Kirby Smart’s salary of $13.28 million, the Greenville News reported. By comparison, South Carolina coach Shane Beamer’s salary is $6.4 million, among the lowest in the Southeastern Conference.
Like Clemson, North Carolina is in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels last won a football conference championship in 1980.
Belichick becomes the highest-paid state employee in North Carolina history. It’s double the salary Brown earned during his final season at UNC.
The university also reportedly agreed to increase its NIL — name, image, and likeness — package for football from $4 million to $20 million while recruiting Belichick, according to USA Today.
“As I’ve said many times, we want to be the best public university in the United States, and that means excellence in everything we do,” UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts said. “We want to compete with the best, and we’ve hired the best coach.”
Although the final two years on his contract are not guaranteed, there are opportunities for bonuses of up to $3.5 million annually. Belichick also receives benefits like membership to the Chapel Hill Country Club.
Earlier in the day, the university’s board of trustees voted to approve the terms of employment for Belichick and women’s soccer coach Damon Nahas during a closed session.
The UNC System Board of Governors University Personnel Committee and the full board held back-to-back emergency meetings Thursday, discussing the contract in closed sessions.
Neither group officially revealed what they discussed, but one member congratulated Chancellor Roberts.
“Thank you to everyone, especially to Chancellor Roberts and his team, and we’re very excited for you,” Chair Wendy Murphy said.
Certain terms of coaches’ contracts require the approval of the UNC System president and the Board of Governors, according to UNC policy.
“The Board of Governors does not approve the final contract, but did authorize certain proposed terms, as required by policy, prior to the institution executing the contract,” spokesperson Andy Wallace wrote to NC Newsline in an email.
Asked at Thursday’s press conference if in this new era of revenue sharing and player compensation, it was financially sound for the university to commit so much to football and men’s basketball (head men’s basketball coach Hubert Davis is paid just under $3 million in total compensation), athletic director Bubba Cunningham said he believed in this strategic investment.
“I think if you go all in on those two sports, those two sports provide all of the finances for the rest of the department,” said Cunningham. “The more successful we are on football, the more successful we are on basketball, the more opportunities we’re going to be able to provide for everyone else here. So, I’m delighted with it. And I think our future is incredibly bright.”
While others have expressed some concerns about the high-profile hire and where the football program may be headed, the 72-year-old coach sought to allay those fears.
“Excited for the opportunity to build and develop young student-athletes, young men, and prepare them for their life, either in the NFL or professionally. But the lessons they learn will be professional lessons,” Belichick said.
Building a more professional program will cost the university and its donors more money.
The contract also stipulates the university will work in good faith with the new head coach to contract with a general manager for the football program for a duration that matches that of Belichick at a compensation level not to exceed $1.5 million. Multiple media outlets have reported Michael Lombardi, who has worked for several NFL teams, will hold that position at UNC.
After a 6-6 season, they’ll face the UConn Huskies in Boston’s Wasabi Fenway Bowl on Dec. 28.
Christine Zhu covers state politics and government for NC Newsline. She is based in Raleigh. NC Newsline is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Like the SC Daily Gazette, NC Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NC Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Rob Schofield for questions: info@ncnewsline.com.
ESG University republishes their articles, features and stories online and/or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
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