CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — When UNC hired Bill Belichick in December 2024, the school's football NIL budget was $4 million. It is now $14 million, confirmed by ESPN, a number that represents the single biggest spending jump of any program in the ACC over the past two years. That money bought a 4-8 record, 234th-ranked scoring offense, zero NFL Draft picks, and one of the messiest first seasons any high-profile coaching hire has produced in the modern era of college football.
Year 2 starts August 29 in Dublin, Ireland. Same opponent as Year 1. TCU beat UNC by 34 points last September.
The numbers from Belichick's debut are worth sitting with. The Tar Heels were outscored 120-33 in their three Power Four losses. They lost to Clemson 38-10 and trailed 28-3 after the first quarter. They closed the season getting beaten 42-19 by rival NC State. For context, the program that spent $14 million on its football roster could not crack the top 200 in scoring nationally. Programs with a fraction of that budget finished higher.
So Belichick went to work this offseason. He fired offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens, the man responsible for that 234th-ranked offense, and replaced him with Bobby Petrino. He watched 31 players leave through the transfer portal and replaced them with 20 new transfers and 40 freshmen. The quarterback room now features Wisconsin transfer Billy Edwards Jr. and Texas A&M transfer Miles O'Neill, two passers who stand 6-6 and 253 pounds on average. Petrino installed a power run game. Spring practice observers said the team looked bigger, faster, and more physical than anything Belichick put on the field in year one.
That is the optimistic version. Here is the other version.
The 2026 schedule is brutal. After opening in Dublin against TCU, UNC hosts Notre Dame in Week 5, then faces Clemson, Duke, Miami, and NC State before November ends. Six games against projected top-half ACC teams. The last four teams that lost the Dublin opener did not finish above .500 that same season. If UNC goes to Ireland and loses again, the questions will start immediately and they will not stop.
Off the field, the situation has not improved. Multiple players picked up speeding citations and reckless driving charges this offseason. Cornerbacks coach Armond Hawkins was suspended last fall for distributing impermissible benefits, handing out sideline passes to a player's family in violation of NCAA rules. A UNC professor sent a formal letter to athletic director Bubba Cunningham asking if anyone in the administration could "rein in these players" and warning the football team was "tarnishing the reputation of our school." Cunningham reportedly responded: "I don't know how many more times I can apologize."
A planned in-season documentary with Hulu was scrapped. A Hard Knocks deal fell apart before cameras rolled. The Hulu project alone was supposed to be the vehicle that told America the story of a legend rebuilding in college football. It told a different story instead.
And then there is Jordon Hudson. Belichick's 24-year-old girlfriend has become impossible to separate from the broader narrative of his tenure. She has been on the practice field. She has been photographed consulting with officials and photographers during workouts. She was reportedly CC'd on program emails. She appeared at the Kentucky Oaks in May dressed for a fashion spread while Belichick stood next to her in a baseball cap. National analyst David Ubben addressed it directly: "I don't think he gets fired, but it's very expensive." Former quarterback Gio Lopez, who transferred out after last season, said publicly he had no good things to say about the program.
The buyout makes this all UNC's problem to manage. Belichick signed a five-year, $50 million deal in December 2024. Getting out of that contract after two seasons would cost the university an enormous sum. So the Tar Heels are locked in, spending $14 million on a football program that ranked 234th in scoring, hoping Bobby Petrino and a new quarterback can produce something worth defending.
Full program spending for every school in college football is at https://thesideline.co/nil-tracker. UNC's $14 million is not at the top of that list. What makes it remarkable is where it started: $4 million three years ago, before Belichick walked into Chapel Hill and rewrote the budget. The investment tripled. The record did not follow.
August 29. Dublin. TCU. Year 2 starts there.