Bill Belichick’s potential NFL return could be cheaper than previously thought.
The New England Patriots icon stunned the football world when he decided to take over the North Carolina Tar Heels.
It is his first ever college role and leaves him short of Don Shula’s all-time record as the winningest NFL coach.
It has been widely reported that Belichick has a $10million buyout in his UNC contract, which reduces to $1million post June 1.
Both the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders have been linked with a potential approach for Belichick.
A reunion with Raiders investor Tom Brady in Sin City would be a monumental move, one owner Mark Davis may be willing to shell out for.
But UNC have confirmed to CBS Sports that there is no ‘fully-executed and signed contract’ with Belichick, leading to a ‘legal grey area’ over his buyout.
The NFL icon signed a term sheet proposal but has not yet put pen to paper on his full contract – a common practice in college football.
Belichick is a wealthy man and the owner of any team that signed him would be even more so, meaning he could opt to honor the buyout should he leave.
If not, CBS Sports was told a legal battle would ensue over what was owed to UNC.
The point may be moot as there have been no indications that Belichick is looking to jump ship
“I didn’t come here to leave,” he said at his opening press conference.
He is on the recruiting trail having thrown himself into his new job and brought his son Stephen over as defensive coordinator.
“Bill Belichick committed to North Carolina. He committed it to me, he committed it to the university,” UNC general manager Michael Lombardi, who worked with the coach in New England, recently insisted. “There’s been no conversation about anything.
“This is the best job we could have at the time of our lives and we’re going to really embrace it and work hard to make North Carolina proud.”
Belichick is on the road convincing potential students to buy into his Tar Heels program which raises a moral question.
“[If] you give your word to all these people that hire you, the kids, the parents of those kids, the commitment to the university, [it] would feel so wrong to leave,” a NFL assistant coach told CBS. “It would be different if he had not just accepted AND had his big to-do about him accept the job — holding up his dad’s sweatshirt etc.”
Belichick reportedly sounded out NFL teams before heading into the college game.
At the time, only the New York Jets, Chicago Bears, and New Orleans Saints had openings at head coach.
Since then, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cowboys and Raiders have begun searches.
Dallas owner Jerry Jones is close with Belichick and America’s Team linking up with a six-time Super Bowl winner would make the kind of waves he expects of his team.
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