“This is an extraordinary situation and the first of its kind. There is absolutely nothing to compare it to.”
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- Bill Belichick’s buyout structure if the University of North Carolina fires him is highly unusual for a college football coaching contract.
- The first three years of Bill Belichick’s contract are fully guaranteed, but the fourth year’s buyout drops to $0.
- Bill Belichick’s effectiveness against UNC is beyond record. See attendance numbers.
The most important sentence is tucked away on page 18 of Bill Belichick’s North Carolina State coaching contract.
Formally, it is Item 12(b).
Unofficially, this paragraph corresponds to North Carolina’s escape hatch.
This paragraph outlines financial obligations if UNC fires Belichick without cause at any point before the end of his five-year contract. It seems related. The Tar Heels have a 2-3 record in Belichick’s first season as head coach, including three disappointing losses against Power Four opponents.
Belichick’s annual compensation is $10.1 million. However, his contract includes $0 in severance if he is fired during the final two seasons of his tenure.
This represents a highly unusual acquisition structure for an early deal within the college football ecosystem.
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Belichick’s contract is expected to bring him more than $50 million in total compensation, of which about 60%, or $30 million, is guaranteed.
This percentage is not particularly unusual. The contents are as follows. Belichick’s compensation is 100% guaranteed through the first three years of his contract. In other words, North Carolina will owe Belichick $10 million a year for three years regardless of whether he is fired or not, unless he was fired for cause. However, you are guaranteed 0% for the last two years of your contract.
“I’ve never seen a contract in the last two or three years with a guarantee for three years and no guarantee,” said Martin Greenberg, an expert sports lawyer and former law professor at Marquette University. “This is an extraordinary situation and the first of its kind. There is absolutely nothing to compare it to.”
Starting January 1, 2028, Belichick may be terminated without cause at no cost to the university under the terms of his contract.
Effectively, Belichick’s contract is a three-year contract disguised as a five-year contract.
“This is an experiment. Basically, this experiment requires a three-year bond,” Greenberg said.
The contract’s severance structure is an outlier from industry norms, but it reflects the reality of Belichick’s situation. He is 73 years old and has never coached a college program before.
“The wording of this contract looks like a three-year deal with two years deferred, but it seems to make more sense through the prism of Bill Belichick being the oldest coach in the country right now and having never coached in college,” said Dan Rust, a sports law attorney at Morit, Hock & Hamroff in New York and a professor at New York Law School who hosts the sports law podcast “Conduct Detrimental.”
Bill Belichick’s annual compensation exceeds $10 million
Meanwhile, the six-time Super Bowl champion is profitable.
His $10.1 million salary ranks ninth in the nation, ahead of the Power Four coaches who made the playoffs last season: Tennessee’s Josh Heupel ($9 million), Penn State’s James Franklin ($8.5 million), Indiana State’s Curt Cinetti ($8.3 million) and Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham ($7.4 million).
Belichick also enjoys a bonus program that could give him up to $3.35 million this season if North Carolina wins the national championship and achieves other accomplishments. Some bonuses are easier to obtain than others. For example, he would earn a $150,000 bonus if North Carolina State qualified for a lower-level bowl game.
Bill Belichick also allowed off-ramp under North Carolina contract
The contract also provides for an off-ramp if Belichick takes another job. After June 1, Belichick will only be paid $1 million if he leaves before his contract expires. By industry standards, this is cheap.
“I didn’t come here to leave,” Belichick said after accepting the job.
where will he go? North Carolina’s performance makes it less likely that other suitors will come knocking.
Coaching contracts are rarely signed. Belichick will either be fired, retire or otherwise leave UNC before his contract ends, or he will receive an extension or modification before his contract reaches its end point. If the contract is amended, the terms of his acquisition could change.
College football buyout structures vary by contract.
There is no single acquisition structure that the industry follows. Termination language differs from contract to contract. The most coach-friendly contracts guarantee 100% of your compensation for the entire length of the contract.
Jimbo Fisher helped launch this type of contract with his big contract and subsequent extension at Texas A&M. Mr. Fisher was to be fully compensated until the end of his term, regardless of whether his performance increased or decreased. When the Aggies fired Fisher with eight years left on his contract, he was owed an industry-record buyout of more than $75 million.
Penn State’s Franklin signed a similar endorsement deal with Fisher, guaranteeing full compensation if fired.
Some coaches buy out at a fixed number, while others work on a ladder, where the severance pay goes down gradually as the contract progresses.
Other contracts have percentage-based buyout structures. That’s the case with up-and-coming Florida coach Billy Napier. He signed a seven-year contract worth $51.8 million in 2021, with 85% of his remaining compensation guaranteed if he is terminated without cause at any point during that period.
The University of North Carolina did so cheaply by industry standards last year when it fired Mack Brown with three seasons left on his contract. The company paid him $2.8 million in installments.
The Bill Belichick effect shows up in sellouts, if not wins.
Belibor quickly turned sour. His Tar Heels look like a mess on the field and are one of the worst teams in the Power Four. Belichick’s early value to North Carolina exceeded the team’s record. He won six Super Bowls as coach of the New England Patriots, captivating attention and audiences.
If conference realignment reignites in the 2030s, as some industry experts predict, the rapidly growing football program could make North Carolina even more attractive to the Big Ten and SEC, the nation’s wealthiest and most powerful conferences.
The Tar Heels sold out all six of their 2025 home games before the season started. Home fans continue to see lopsided losses.
A crowd of 50,500 created a lively environment at Kenan Stadium for the season opener. The game captivated ESPN’s Labor Day prime time slot. Fans started lining up in the third quarter as TCU stomped on the Tar Heels.
In the Oct. 4 loss to Clemson, UNC led 28-3 and students began leaving at the end of the first quarter.
Before the season, UNC President Lee Roberts declared, “We have hired the best coach.”
Or North Carolina hired a coach who was past his peak and had lost his true qualities.
Blake Topmeyer is USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow at X @btoppmeyer.
