What Bill Belichick's UNC Contract States About Potential Return to NFL in 2025

It's possible but would be a mighty expensive move.

Bill Belichick / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Bill Belichick was hired by UNC less than a month ago and his name is already being thrown around in NFL head-coaching rumors. Wednesday brought a report from NFL Network's Tom Pelissero that "multiple" teams have inquired if Belichick would be willing to leave his newly-found college football gig for a return to the pros. Which, of course, includes the Las Vegas Raiders, partially owned by the one and only Tom Brady.

It is a pretty surprising sequence of events to unfold after everybody presumed Belichick fled to college because the NFL had passed him by. It also feels hard to believe—the longtime New England Patriots coach appears to just be settling into his new gig, going on recruiting trips and hiring his staff, including his son.

Is there really a chance he'd reverse course almost immediately to go back to pro football?

The only person who truly knows that is Belichick. But the rest of us can read the tea leaves using the information at our disposal. Like the particulars of Belichick's contract with North Carolina—which could make an NFL return tricky indeed.

As noted when Belichick first signed with UNC, his contract includes a section detailing what would happen if the coach terminated his contract without cause. If he does so before June 1, 2025, then Belichick (or the NFL team that hires him) owes the university a whopping $10 million. But after June 1, it drops to merely $1 million.

Bill Belichick's buyout to leave is $10 million... until June 1, 2025, when it drops to $1 million.

So it will be easy for Belichick to go back to the NFL after one year if the opportunity presents itself. pic.twitter.com/rrvaMci3DC

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) December 12, 2024

This seems to have been built into his deal for the specific instance we now see—NFL teams suddenly remembering Belichick is a good coach and wanting to hire him, which would leave the Tar Heels in the dust.

The NFL head coach cycle is always chock-full of wild rumors, and this is definitely one to keep an eye on.

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