The University of North Carolina has announced that it will pay new football coach Bill Belichick $10 million annually, as revealed in a contract term sheet released by the university on Thursday afternoon.

Even though the contract spans five years, the guarantee covers only the first three years in the event that Belichick is dismissed without cause.

This annual salary effectively doubles what the recently dismissed coach Mack Brown was earning. It positions Belichick as the sixth highest-paid college football coach at a public university for the 2025 football season based on data from the YSL News Sports annual salary database and contracts obtained via open record requests.

In comparison to other public school coaches, Belichick’s salary will trail behind those of Kirby Smart (Georgia), Dabo Swinney (Clemson), Steve Sarkisian (Texas), Mike Norvell (Florida State), and Kalen DeBoer (Alabama). Lincoln Riley, the coach of Southern California, earned $10,043,418 in 2022 according to the latest tax records available as USC is a private institution.

Belichick’s contract also includes a $100,000 annual expense account and the opportunity to earn up to $3.5 million each year in bonuses. Among these bonuses, $250,000 appears to be easily achievable: $150,000 for having the team compete in a non-CFP bowl game, typically requiring a minimum record of 6 wins and 6 losses (which is the current record of UNC), and $100,000 for the team achieving a single-year NCAA Academic Progress Rate score between 950 and 969 (which the team has surpassed for the past three years).

Furthermore, the contract outlines that North Carolina will provide:

–$10 million designated as an “assistant coach salary pool.” This season, UNC is allocating nearly $7.4 million to its 10 primary assistants, according to information sourced from the university by YSL News Sports. This summer, the NCAA Division I Council removed the 10-person cap on on-field assistant coaches for institutions, excluding service academies.

–$1 million for personnel in strength and conditioning.

–$5.3 million for support staff, which includes funding for a new general manager position with a salary cap of $1.5 million. During a Thursday press conference, Belichick mentioned that this position will be filled by Mike Lombardi, a former NFL executive. Alabama’s GM Courtney Morgan is set to earn $825,000 next season.

–$13 million labeled as “revenue sharing.” This likely represents the estimated total amount the university intends to distribute to football players for using their name, image, and likeness, should a federal judge approve the proposed settlement in April concerning antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA and the Power Five conferences.

Currently, North Carolina stands out as the only university to publicly disclose the intended compensation for football players concerning their NIL rights as part of a coach’s employment terms.

According to the terms of the settlement, educational institutions are anticipated to have the capability to compensate their athletes across all sports between $20 million and $23 million for their NIL rights.

(This story was updated with new information.)