Bill Belichick and North Carolina have finalized their employment contract for the legendary football coach.
Much was made in recent weeks that Belichick hadn’t yet signed his deal with the school, which isn’t entirely unusual. The parties settled in December to a non-binding agreement and Belichick has operated in full as UNC’s coach ever since.
His signature wasn’t a mere formality, however. Certain details had to still be worked out and have. And the deal is dated December 12, 2024. Belichick formally signed the contract Wednesday.
(Belichick's contract agreement)
As was initially released and reported, the deal is for the term of five years at $50 million. His base salary is $1 million and an additional $9 million comes from supplemental sources working out to $10 million per year. The first three years are gauranteed.
In addition, Belichick can earn performance bonuses. According to the contract:
Competitive performance – Regular season. In anu program season during the Term in which the Program wins eight (8) or more regular season games, Coach will receiver a single bonus in the amount that corresponds to the number of regular season wins, as follows:
*Win 8 games and Belichick gets a $150,000 bonus
*Win 9 games and Belichick gets a $200,000 bonus
*Win 10 games and Belichick gets a $250,000 bonus
*Win 11 games and Belichick gets a $300,000 bonus
*Win 12 games and Belichick gets a $350,000 bonus
*Belichick will receive an additional $200,000 bonus if the Tar Heels reach the ACC championship game.
*Belichick will receive an additional $300,000 bonus if the Tar Heels win the ACC championship game.
*He will receive a $350,000 bonus if UNC “appears in any Non-CFP Tier 1/Elite bowl game (but not a bowl game identified in Section 4(b)(iii)(1).”
------'“None-CFP Tire 1/Elite bowl game’ shall be defined as the Pop-Tarts Bowl, TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, and the Duke Mayo Bowl.”
*If UNC is to reach the CFP, Belichick will receive a single bonus correspondent with how the team finishes:
---Participant in the CFP – $750,000
---Quarterfinals appearance - $1,000,000
---Semifinal appearance - $1,250,000
---Championship appearance - $1,500,000
---Win championship - $1,750,000
*If the Tar Heels finish ranked in the final CFP poll, Belichick will receive the following bonus:
---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 he will receive s $100,000 bonus
*If Belichick is named National Coach of the Year by select outlets/organizations, he will receive a $250,000 bonus
---Those outlets/organizations are Associated Press; ABC/ESPN; the Walter Camp Foundation; the Bobby Dodd coach of the Year Foundation; the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award; CBSSports.com; ABCSports.com; The Sporting News; the Maxwell Football Club.
*Also, if the team grade point average exceeds 2.7 but is less than 2.8, Belichick will receive a $50,000 bonus.
*If the team GPA exceeds 2.8 but is less than 2.9 he will receive a $75,000 bonus.
*If the team GPA exceeds 2.9 but is below 3.0 he will receive a $100,000 bonus.
*If the team GPA exceeds 3.0 he will receive a $250,000 bonus.
*Regarding the Academic Progress Rate (APR):
---If the team APR rate is between 950-969, he gets $100,000
---If the team APR rate is between 970-989, he gets $125,000
---If the team APR rate is between 990-999, he gets $150,000
---If the team APR rate is 1,000 or above, he gets $200,000
In total, Belichick could earn up to $3.5 million in bonuses each season.
The buyout in Belichick’s contract is $10 million through the end of May. As of June 1, 2025, the buyout drops to $1 million. The contract also details Belichick or a representative must inform UNC if he is having discussions with other NFL teams or colleges about possible employment.
