“I can’t worry about what everybody else is or isn’t doing,” Bill Belichick said about a week ago while addressing the rumors linking him with the HC vacancy in Dallas. The thought of the most successful NFL coach of the modern era taking up the reins at America’s Team is enticing enough, but it seems Belichick is focused on his role at UNC. With a five-year $50 million deal in place, it seems Belichick is satisfied with how things are going, but money was never an issue for the six-time Super Bowl-winning coach, even after he left New England.

Before Belichick turned heads with a move to college football, he was making regular media appearances and apparently raking in good money doing so. As many fans would know, the six-time Super Bowl was a recurring guest on the Pat McAfee Show and it turns out the former NFL punter was paying him handsomely for the gig.

Dan Le Batard didn’t hold back on “The Dan Le Batard Show,” last month saying, “Belichick was making $10 million dollars a year in his media career I’m guessing. He was doing so many jobs, David… This is a sports brand name in America’s most popular sport, better at excellence than any of them.” Batard then dropped a bombshell about his appearances on the Pat McAfee Show.

“McAfee was giving him a million to just show up. Belichick’s name shows up in a room in North Carolina, money is going into it.” A million. To talk. It’s the type of side hustle dreams are made of. The man wasn’t just cashing checks—he was redefining how media space works for a name as big as him.

Belichick had a packed media schedule last year as he spent time away from the sidelines. He was all over the media game, from ESPN to Sirius XM, while also being a presence on the CW Network and Underdog Fantasy.

His ESPN assignments included all 11 ‘Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli’ telecasts as a featured guest in the first half of the game. Then he Manning for a multi-platform original series called ‘The Breakdown.’ At Sirius XM, he was named the co-host of the “Let’s Go!” show. For CW, he joined Ryan Clark, Chris Long, and Chad Johnson on “Inside the NFL.”

After making an appearance on McAfee’s show during the 2024 Draft, Belichick went on to make regular appearances during the NFL season. When all this is taken into account, Batard’s claim of the former Pats coach making $10 million in media appearances doesn’t sound far fetched.

When UNC snagged Belichick in December 2024, it felt like the college football world had hit the lottery. The Tar Heels landed the second-winningest coach in NFL history for a massive deal. But, in true Belichick fashion, he made his unofficial announcement on—you guessed it—Pat McAfee’s show, just two days before going public. Classic mic-drop moment.

However, ever since he showed up in North Carolina on December 11, there has been intense speculation that an NFL team is likely to snap him up even before he gets to coach UNC in a competitive game. The Cowboys, who parted ways with Mike McCarthy last week, are heavily linked, but Belichick remains committed to the college team.

Speaking on the Dallas hot seat on the Let’s Go podcast, he said, “I’m focused on Carolina and Tar Heels and making the 25 team there in Carolina as good as we can make it and build the program to a high level, and you know to compete in the ACC. So I can’t worry about what everybody else is or isn’t doing.” Belichick has a reported $10 million buyout clause if the Cowboys him before June 1, 2025, but a shocking update suggests that Jerry Jones may not have to spend a dime to get his man.

According to a CBS Sports report, “there is no fully executed and signed contract between Belichick and UNC.” This means if any NFL franchise moves to sign for Belichick, the lack of a signed contract “could lead to a legal gray area about how much, if any, of a buyout there would be.”

Notably, Belichick’s buyout drops to $1 million after the June 1 deadline, which is a significant difference in money a team has to pay to acquire his services even before he has coached a game for UNC.

Belichick signed a term sheet proposal, known as a Proposal of Contract Terms and Conditions with UNC when he officially joined on December 11. It enlists basic terms for a high-level college football coach. However, the four-page document declares it does not constitute a binding agreement, leaving room for all kinds of “what if” scenarios.

With the frenzy around Belichick’s status with UNC, the program’s general manager Michael Lombardi was forced to clear the air.

Lombardi calms UNC fears over Belichick’s contract

The long wait between a coach agreeing to a job and a contract becoming official isn’t anything new in college football. Michigan didn’t finalize Sherrone Moore’s contract until September, almost nine months after he was promoted last offseason.

Michael Lombardi, UNC’s general manager, tried to calm the waters on The Pat McAfee Show regarding Belichick’s status with the program.

“He’s not going anywhere. … Coach Belichick is where he wants to be. ….. Washington D.C., in spite of all the stories trying to say that he’s not working, his contract, and all that. He’s on the road recruiting. He’ll be in Baltimore tomorrow. We’re trying to get some players to become Tar Heels,” he said.

He further added, “Contracts are very complicated and if you understand the North Carolina system, it’s a state institution, it takes a while to get things done. There’s a lot of hurdles to go through. I haven’t signed my contract yet.” Meanwhile, Jordon Hudson, the 24-year-old girlfriend of Belichick also had a message for those doubting the Pats legend’s commitment to UNC.

Taking to Instagram, she posted a blue-themed photo of the couple smiling and holding a football with a Tar Heels logo on it with the caption, “Pictured: two people who are overtly committed to UNC football.”

This should be enough, but the rumor mill cannot be stopped till Belichick inks the UNC deal.

Belichick’s UNC chapter is already a saga. Will he stick around and rewrite college football history? Or will the NFL lure him back with promises of one last dance?