Bill Belichick reportedly has UNC contract that hasn't been fully executed, opening door for questions on buyout

There has been a lot of discussion of Bill Belichick's $10 million buyout (before June 1, 2025) at UNC since the NFL head coaching carousel has heated up over the past week.

However, that's only relevant if the contract has been signed, right?

Well that's where things have gotten interesting.

This morning, CBS Sports shares that UNC has confirmed the contract between Belichick and UNC has not been fully-executed.

While that's not completely uncommon in college athletics (some coaches have been known to work a full year before all pens get to paper), as those things tend to take longer than most would like, the fact that perhaps the greatest NFL coach of all time decided to take over a college program before the NFL hiring cycle fully kicked in and now finds himself in a legal gray area invites a multitude of "what if" questions.

Like, if the right NFL opportunity were to come along, is there enough of a  legal gray area that would allow Belichick the opportunity to slip away with much less, if any, of a buyout?

CBS Sports adds that Belichick signed a term sheet proposal laying out only the basics of the contract back on December 11th.

That term sheet opens with a few sentences that shed some light on whether it would be legally enforceable, the report adds. Those significant sentences read:

"The University proposed 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."

At his presser on December 12th, Belichick was asked about the possibility of leaving North Carolina for the NFL, and he famously responded, "I didn't come here to leave." But we all know how press conference platitudes go at this point.

It is worth thinking through some of Belchick's incredible moments of strategy during his NFL career where he took NFL rules and loopholes and made them work brilliantly to his advantage. If he wants out of UNC for the right NFL opportunity, there's little doubt he would find a way.

But it's also worth reminding, last year he was on the open market and really interviewed only with one NFL team - the Atlanta Falcons.

All indications so far from Chapel Hill are that Belichick has jumped into recruiting, the portal, NIL and everything else that goes into being a college head coach with both feet and is really settling in nicely, bringing his version of the NFL model to college.

If I'm someone like billionaire Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who - at 82 years old - has been open about wanting to add another Super Bowl trophy to the trophy case, knowing there's a gray area and having an army of high powered lawyers at my fingertips might be the only clearance I need to make a run at Belichick.

Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.

UNC GM, and longtime confidant of Belichick, Michael Lombardi has responded to the CBS Story with...