With the House settlement possibly days away from approval and $20.5 million "salary caps" on the way, playing out against the backdrop of the NCAA basketball tournament, many have theorized that it might be more economically efficient for certain schools to go all-in on basketball at the expense of their football program. If most schools are spending in the neighborhood of $13 million on their football roster, $5 million on their men's basketball team and splitting the rest on their other sports, wouldn't it make more sense to spend $11 million on football and $7 million on hoops? You're not catching Ohio State and Georgia anyway, so why not splurge on that stretch 5 and that floor general point guard?
On the surface, it's not a bad argument, until you get to the counterpoint. And that counterpoint is North Carolina.
If not the ultimate basketball school, UNC is at least on the podium. The Tar Heels have done their own math and come to the exact opposite conclusion: they decided they can't afford not to go all-in on football. Whatever the new world order of college athletics winds up becoming in the next few years, it won't matter how good your basketball program is if football can't pull its weight. Or at least that's the thought.
Time will tell if North Carolina made the right decision to go all-in with a 72-year-old Bill Belichick, but there's no denying they're going all-in.
Aside from the obvious, UNC's staff salaries -- unveiled Monday by WRAL -- represent the blurring of the lines between the "on-field" staff and the "support" staff. Only Belichick and 10 assistants can recruit off campus, but 14 Tar Heels have coach or coordinator in their title, plus an offensive assistant. And, in another sign of the changing times, GM Michael Lombardi is paid more than anyone but the head man. All told, North Carolina will pay its senior football staff $19.312 million in 2025 -- a group that now includes 18 people.
| Coach | Title | Salary |
| Bill Belichick | Head Coach | $10 million |
| Michael Lombardi | General Manager | $1.5 million |
| Steve Belichick | Defensive Coordinator | $1.3 million |
| Freddie Kitchens | Offensive Coordinator/TEs | $1.15 million |
| Will Friend | Offensive Line | $750,000 |
| Moses Cabrera | Strength & Conditioning | $700,000 |
| Matt Lombardi | Quarterbacks | $600,000 |
| Bob Diaco | Defensive Line | $575,000 |
| Garrick McGee | Wide Receivers | $525,000 |
| Brian Belichick | Safeties | $500,000 |
| Mike Priefer | Special Teams Coordinator | $400,000 |
| Natrone Means | Running Backs | $357,000 |
| Armond Hawkins | Cornerbacks | $275,000 |
| Billy Miller | Special Teams Assistant | $190,000 |
| Jamie Collins | Inside Linebackers | $150,000 |
| Ty Nichols | Outside Linebackers | $125,000 |
| Andrew Blaylock | Assistant DPP | $125,000 |
| Caleb Pickrell | Offensive Assistant | $90,000 |
| Total | $19.312 million |
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