Ever since Bill Belichick agreed to become the next coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, questions regarding whether he would return to the NFL have surrounded him. Many have pointed to his buyout clause with UNC: $10 million if he terminates his employment with the school before June 1, 2025, but only $1 million after that date.
Would Belichick himself write that check, having made more than $20 million in each of his final seasons with the Patriots? Or would the owner of the multibillion-dollar NFL franchise hiring him consider it the cost of doing business?
Presently, there is not a fully executed and signed contract between Belichick and UNC, sources told CBS Sports — and the school confirmed — this week. Industry sources say that could create to a legal gray area about how much, if any, of a buyout would exist if Belichick left for the pros.
Belichick signed a term sheet proposal with UNC on Dec. 11. That laid out the basic and somewhat typical terms for a high-level college football coach. A gap of multiple months between the signing of a term sheet and a final contract being executed is common in the college ranks, industry sources said.
A day later, at his introductory press conference, Belichick was asked about fears people may have of him leaving UNC for the NFL.
“I didn’t come here to leave,” Belichick said to applause from the North Carolina faithful in attendance.
The term sheet Belichick signed is known officially as a Proposal of Contract Terms and Conditions. It begins with a two-sentence paragraph that, as one NFL source with a legal background put, is “consequential” to the question of what will or won’t be legally enforceable.
“The University proposes to enter into an Employment Agreement with Bill Belichick to serve as the Head Football Coach. It is understood and agreed that this proposal of terms and conditions shall not constitute a binding agreement, and the parties intend to negotiate expeditiously and in good faith to finalize these terms and conditions into a long-form agreement.”
Belichick and Nate Knuffman, UNC’s vice chancellor for finance and operations, signed the term sheet; however, that four-page document declares it does not constitute a binding agreement. A UNC spokesperson confirmed Wednesday the term sheet is the only signed document between Belichick and the school.
Industry sources agree it is typical at the collegiate level for coaches to begin working without a fully executed contract. Indeed, the UNC spokesperson said that the school has “had coaches coach here for a year before they had an actual contract.”
“It’s not unusual to sign [a term sheet] and then have the full contract take a while,” said an agent who works with coaches in the pros and college. A second coaching agent, who also works with both college and pro coaches, confirmed as much: “Schools drag their feet like crazy, and I don’t know why.”
All sources contacted for this story agreed: Should Belichick leave without paying a buyout, a legal dispute of some sort would likely take place for either all or part of the $10 million.
The term sheet calls for a five-year contract worth $10 million annually with the first three years guaranteed. It lays out the bonus structure for wins, postseason performance, academics and coaching accolades. It also includes the usual terms surrounding benefits for head coaches like courtesy cars, relocation expenses and outside income.
If Belichick terminates the deal without cause before June 1, 2025, there would be a $10 million payment made by — or on behalf of — Belichick. That buyout shrinks to $1 million after June 1. Either way, the buyout “shall be payable to the University within 180 days of the date of termination.”
Considering Belichick’s wealth and the even greater wealth of NFL team owners, sources within the UNC community have expressed discomfort about Belichick’s buyout. That it drops to $1 million before Belichick ever coaches a game at UNC exacerbates that malaise.
Before taking the job in Chapel Hill, Belichick put out feelers across the NFL to gauge teams’ interest in him as a coach. He personally called the Jets, who had previously been considered a no-go destination. At the time he took the North Carolina job, there were only three NFL jobs open: the Jets, Bears and Saints.
Since then, the Patriots, Jaguars, Raiders and Cowboys have opened. Removing the Patriots from the pool of potential landing spots, that makes three new jobs that have recirculated speculation about a potential Belichick return.
Last week, UNC general manager Michael Lombardi emphatically shut down any rumors of Belichick desiring to leave the Tar Heels. Lombardi, who makes a base salary of $1.5 million in his role and previously worked for Belichick on the Patriots’ staff, said on the Pat McAfee Show that he and Belichick are “1000% committed” to the school.
“Bill Belichick committed to North Carolina. He committed it to me, he committed it to the university,” Lombardi said. “There’s been no conversation about anything. This is the best job we could have at the time of our lives and we’re going to really embrace it and work hard to make North Carolina proud.”
Belichick has been assembling a staff at UNC, keeping tight ends coach Freddie Kitchens and bringing in former Patriots strength coach Moses Cabrera for the same role. He has gotten players out of the transfer portal and been seen at high school campuses up and down the east coast recruiting for the future of North Carolina football.
He is publicly presenting to the football community that he is there to stay.
“[If] you give your word to all these people that hire you, the kids, the parents of those kids, the commitment to the university, [it] would feel so wrong to leave,” said one NFL assistant coach. “It would be different if he had not just accepted AND had his big to-do about him accept the job — holding up his dad’s sweatshirt etc.”
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But now, one of the premier franchises in the NFL has a vacant head coaching job in the Dallas Cowboys. They won 12 games in three consecutive seasons before a 7-10 season this year, and Dallas has one of the better rosters among the teams with available jobs.
Sources have described Belichick’s long-standing relationship with Jerry Jones as a good one. One source wondered whether Belichick would want to “stick it” to Robert Kraft by signing with the Cowboys and Jones.
When it comes to interviewing college coaches for NFL jobs, the league has that covered in its anti-tampering policy. First, and most importantly as it relates to Belichick, “[p]rior to having discussions with a college coach or other college employee, the club must determine whether or not the candidate is under contract,” reads the policy.
This would obviously be a central question with Belichick considering the presence of the term sheet but absence of a lack of a long-form contract. The policy states if the coach is not under contract, the NFL team can proceed without contacting the school. But in “an effort to foster strong relationships with colleges, clubs are encouraged to provide advance notification to the school’s Athletic Director.”
If the coach is under contract, that team would have to request permission from the school’s athletic director before contacting the coaching candidate. The policy says it is “strongly recommended to receive such permission in writing.”
This sort of gray area doesn’t exist when it comes to NFL coaching contracts. The NFL requires any head coach or assistant to be under a written contract with the team by the summer, otherwise that coach “is prohibited from performing coaching duties at training camps and during the rest of the playing season.” That coach can’t be on the field until there is a written deal that is executed and approved by the league office.
To be sure, Belichick and his top lieutenant say he is sticking to North Carolina. But a departure to the NFL could be done more cheaply and more quietly than previously realized.
