After significant speculation, legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick was confirmed as the North Carolina Tar Heels head coach, replacing Mack Brown following the conclusion of the 2024 college football season.
A swing-for-the-fences hire has understandably significant financial implications, but what is Belichick’s salary, contract, net worth and more with the Tar Heels?
Bill Belichick’s Salary and Contract in 2025
Belichick signed a five-year contract to become the North Carolina head coach. Under the deal, which runs through Dec. 2029, the multiple Super Bowl-winning head coach will earn $10 million per year, immediately making him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football. It is the legendary NFL leader’s first head coaching role at the college football level.
In addition to earning $10 million per year, the contract’s first three years are fully guaranteed. However, years four and five of Belichick’s contract are clearly stated to be not guaranteed. That appears to give North Carolina an inexpensive out after three years if success doesn’t come immediately under a man who has become synonymous with winning at the pro level.
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As is becoming the norm with head coach contracts, Belichick’s $10 million per year salary is made up of two parts. The new North Carolina head coach will earn $1 million base salary, with an additional $9 million comprising supplemental income. That is usually related to media appearances and apparel contracts, but that isn’t explicitly stated in the contract details revealed.
Belichick arrives on Chapel Hill after a 29-year NFL coaching career that started with the Cleveland Browns in 1991 and ended in 2023 after 24 years with the Patriots that included six Super Bowl wins and three AP Coach of the Year awards. While this will be his first head coaching role at the college level, he has significant family ties to North Carolina via his father.
“This is an exciting day for Carolina football and our University,” UNC chancellor Lee H. Roberts said about Belichick’s appointment. “Carolina is committed to excellence and to creating an opportunity to succeed in everything we do, from the classroom to the field of competition.”
“I know after speaking with Coach Belichick that he shares that commitment. His legacy speaks for itself, and we look forward to working together on the next chapter of Carolina football.”
Belichick had reportedly supplied a 400-page “bible” to the program of how he intends to turn around the fortunes of the Tar Heels football team and develop North Carolina into a legitimate NFL-style operation as college football veers toward a professional model with Name, Image, and Likeness and abolition of the National Letter of Intent program.
While Belichick seems committed to the rigors of college football coaching, his contract has some unique short term buyout stipulations if the legendary head coach opts to terminate his deal without cause. If he leaves before June 1, 2025 (before he’s coached a single game) he will have to pay $10 million. After that date, it drops significantly to $1 million.
Belichick’s Net Worth
Under the terms of his new contract, Belichick has a net worth of $50 million. That is based on his earnings of $10 million per year over five years. However, that doesn’t include any accrued income from his time in New England. While there is limited information on his contracts, Spotrac reports that his 2007 extension netted him $45 million over seven years.
Belichick’s net worth also doesn’t include a substantial bonus package that can earn him up to $3.5 million per year, as laid out below:
- Regular season wins: $150,000 (8 wins) to $350,000 (12 wins) increasing in $50,000 increments for each extra win.
- Conference Championship Game: $200,000 for appearance increasing to $300,000 for winning the title game
- Any bowl appearance (non-College Football Playoff): $150,000
- Elite/Tier 1 bowl appearance (non-College Football Playoff): $350,000
- College Football Playoff participant: $750,000
- College Football Playoff Quarterfinal appearance: $1 million
- College Football Playoff Semifinal appearance: $1.25 million
- College Football Playoff National Championship Game: $1.5 million for appearance, rising to $1.75 million for winning.
Bowl and College Football Playoff appearance bonuses in Belichick’s contract are capped at the greatest amount achieved and are not cumulative. The same applies for the final College Football Playoff rankings bonuses as laid out below:
- Top 25: $250,000
- Top 20: $300,000
- Top 15: $375,000
- Top 10: $425,000
- Top 5: $500,000
If Belichick is named ACC Coach of the Year (or equivalent conference award if North Carolina leaves the ACC during his contract term), he will earn a $100,000 bonus that will be replaced by a $250,000 reward if he subsequently receives one of the National Coach of the Year awards.
Additionally, Belichick can receive bonuses related to the academic performance of the football team during his tenure. Once again, these bonuses are not cumulative, with the North Carolina head coach earning the following for single-year Academic Progress Rates (APR) and annual Grade Point Average (GPA):
- 950 to 969 APR: $100,000
- 970 to 989 APR: $125,000
- 990 to 999 APR: $150,000
- 1000 or above APR: $200,000
- 2.7 GPA: $50,000
- 2.8 GPA: $75,000
- 2.9 GPA: $100,000
- 3.0 GPA and above: $150,000
For reference, North Carolina led all FBS football programs with an APR of 996 in the April 2024 rankings, which would have netted Belichick a $150,000 bonus. However, that’s just a drop in the ocean compared to his earning potential should NFL success translate to the college football level. His true net worth to the Tar Heels in that circumstance will be immeasurable.
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