Imagine someone who has achieved so much in the NFL that his name keeps on coming up whenever there’s a coaching vacancy at an NFL franchise. Yeah, we are talking about none other than Bill Belichick. Even after moving down to college football as North Carolina’s coach, Belichick continues to garner interest from the NFL. And the club that has recently expressed its interest in bringing Belichick to the fold is his former player Tom Brady’s franchise, The Las Vegas Raiders. But are those rumors true?

As per NFL insider Tom Pelissero, “Multiple NFL teams have inquired about whether legendary coach Bill Belichick would reconsider his move to college football—including the Raiders, whose minority owner Tom Brady spoke recently with his old coach.” But here’s the thing—Belichick’s GM, Michael Lombardi, has since called out those reporters for spreading false information. Yes, that’s right. When Pat McAfee asked Lombardi about Belichick’s commitment to the Tar Heels, his answer was loud and clear, “Bill Belichick is completely committed to North Carolina.”

Well, the UNC’s GM also decided to put those rumors to bed by calling the Raiders’ interest a “complete falsehood, and that story had no legs.” Now, this isn’t the first time that Lombardi has had to clear the air about the NFL’s rumored interest in Belichick. When the former Patriots head coach still hadn’t been announced as the Tar Heels coach, Lombardi took a jib at the NFL, citing, “Where are the great jobs?.” See, it isn’t like Lombardi was the only one to point fingers at the NFL.

Even the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach also did the same by calling out the NFL’s dysfunctional model, “There’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen, you know, between the General Manager, personnel directors, head coaches, owners, owner’s families and so forth.” For now, it seems like Belichick will remain where he is, judging by Lombardi’s comments. But for how long? With a $10M buyout, are NFL teams just going to wait and watch with all the money they have?

Bill Belichick’s $10M release clause continues to flirt with NFL owners

Everyone knows how Bill Belichick’s UNC contract is designed. Until June 2025, Belichick’s buyout would remain $10M, but after that, windows close. It drops as low as $1M. Yes, that’s right. Now, you could be wondering who is responsible for such an astonishingly low release clause on Belichick’s contract. Well, it’s none other than the 72-year-old himself. He negotiated that buyout with the Tar Heels to probably keep himself in consideration of the NFL. But when the moment came to address his buyout clause and chances of leaving North Carolina in future.

Belichick, on the Let’s Go podcast, said, “No, I’m here at North Carolina. I want to be at Carolina, and I’m excited about being at Carolina.” How much of this remains true is a question for another time. And despite such a low buyout, Belichick’s contract with the UNC runs till 2029. So, considering how his Patriots tenure went and how much of a legend he was in New England. Belichick will always remain the No.1 target for the NFL for as long as he stays in college football.