A potential move that had been breathlessly discussed for days finally came to fruition Wednesday.
Bill Belichick, the NFL coaching legend and perennial Super Bowl champion, is going to be the next head football coach at North Carolina.
The former New England Patriots coach finalized a deal Wednesday with the Tar Heels, according to multiple reports, replacing the recently fired Mack Brown.
The marriage between Belichick and North Carolina will be one of the most fascinating and audacious experiments in modern college football history. Belichick has never coached at the college level in an official capacity, having spent the entirety of his nearly 50-year coaching career in the NFL.
Still, he’ll arrive in Chapel Hill with a resume that stands up against any coach in the history of professional football. In 24 seasons with the Patriots, he led the once-woeful franchise to six Super Bowl championships and nine AFC titles. His six Super Bowls are the most of any coach in NFL history and his 333 career wins put him only 14 victories behind Don Shula, the league’s all-time winningest coach.
As Belichick embarks on a new chapter in his career after resigning in New England in January, here’s a look at some of the financial incentives that await him at North Carolina, including contract details:
Bill Belichick contract details
- Contract length: Three years
- Contract value: $30 million
Belichick’s deal with North Carolina is expected to be for three years and $30 million, according to a report Wednesday from The Athletic.
The $10 million average annual value of the deal is double the $5 million Brown made last season, according to USA TODAY Sports’ coaching salary database.
It’s not the only hefty financial investment the Tar Heels are putting into their football program.
Highest paid college football coaches
The $10 million Belichick is slated to earn on average during each year of his contract would have tied him with Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer and Florida State’s Mike Norvell as the sixth highest-paid coaches in college football during the 2024 season.
Here’s a look at the 10 highest-paid college football coaches from 2024:
- 1. Kirby Smart, Georgia: $13.28 million
- 2. Dabo Swinney, Clemson: $11.13 million
- 3. Steve Sarkisian, Texas: $10.6 million
- 4. Lincoln Riley, USC: $10.04 million
- 5. Ryan Day, Ohio State: $10.02 million
- T-6. Mike Norvell, Florida State: $10 million
- T-6: Kalen DeBoer, Alabama: $10 million
- 8. Brian Kelly, LSU: $9.98 million
- 9. Mark Stoops, Kentucky: $9.01 million
- T-10. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss: $9 million
- T-10: Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri: $9 million
- T-10. Josh Heupel, Tennessee: $9 million