NIL
UNC plan to pay players revenue, NIL after House settlement
UNC football coach Bill Belichick summer press conference
UNC football coach Bill Belichick held a 20-minute press conference. He answered questions about outside “noise” and the roster.
- UNC athletes in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and baseball will receive a share of revenue starting July 1st.
- UNC will increase its athletic scholarships from 338 to 532 across all sports.
- UNC is exploring new revenue streams like naming rights and sponsorships to offset increased costs.
University of North Carolina athletes will be paid revenue directly by the school, beginning July 1, in addition to income they already earn for use of their name, image and likeness.
UNC athletics director Bubba Cunningham outlined the university’s plan for the revenue sharing era in a letter posted on June 23. This follows the approval of the House vs. NCAA settlement on June 6, which moves college sports closer to a professional model. Schools opting into the format can pay athletes up to an annual cap of $20.5 million.
“This is a significant evolution that will change our department’s financial model while providing greater financial opportunities for Tar Heel student-athletes,” Cunningham said in a school-issued statement.
“At Carolina, we have been preparing for these changes for more than a year. We are fully committed to adapting to this new era and continuing to create outstanding championship experiences for our student-athletes across our 28-sport, broad-based program.”
UNC is among the schools positioning itself to share the full amount of revenue share to its athletes. Cunningham revealed how UNC’s athletics department plans to handle the changes.
“As we begin this new era, one thing won’t change: our dedication to excellence and winning in and outside of competition,” Cunningham said.
UNC will share most of $20.5 million with men’s basketball, football
Men’s basketball and football at UNC will receive a majority of the school’s $20.5 million in revenue sharing, according to Cunningham’s letter. Women’s basketball and baseball players will also get a cut of the revenue share, bringing UNC’s total to four sports. The rev-share cap will increase by 4% annually.
UNC scholarship increases for athletes
The settlement institutes roster limits for all sports, but removes scholarship limits. With that change, Cunningham said UNC will increases its number of scholarships by nearly 200 across 28 sports, going from 338 to 532.
“The ability to have more Tar Heels on full scholarship will greatly strengthen our athletics program and the student-athlete experience at Carolina,” Cunningham said. “This is a great opportunity to support additional student-athletes financially, outside of revenue share, and we want to keep building our Rams Club Scholarship Endowment in the hope of increasing scholarships even more in the future.”
UNC backpay for athletes, budget
UNC estimates an impact of $2 million annually for the next 10 years due to the $2.7 billion in backpay to athletes who weren’t allowed to profit off NIL. The NCAA is funding payments for schools by withholding a portion of its annual distribution of funds. Cunningham said UNC’s budget, which was $150 million this year, will grow 30% or 20% by next year.
“To prepare, we have hired a new Chief Revenue Officer to investigate and initiate new revenue opportunities, including naming rights, field sponsorships and jersey patches, expanding football’s Bell Tower Block Party to draw more fans, options to further optimize our relationship with corporate sponsorship partner Learfield and more aggressive ticket sales initiatives,” Cunningham said.
“ACC Success Initiatives and additional funding allocated by the state of North Carolina from gambling revenues may also assist our efforts in the coming years, and we will continue to evaluate our Department’s budget and spending for cost-cutting opportunities.”
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.