Bill Belichick seems to send message to North Carolina players about playing in bowl games

North Carolina football head coach Bill Belichick hasn't necessarily covered himself in glory during a media tour related to his book entitled "The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football," which is set to be released on Tuesday. Nevertheless, numerous members of the football community are understandably curious and excited to read what the living legend had to say about a handful of subjects. 

For an article published on Monday, The Athletic's David Ubben mentioned that Belichick seemed to send a pretty strong message to North Carolina players in the book about possibly opting out of future bowl games. 

"Today, we have perfectly healthy players managing their workload and opting out of games. Maybe that’s a function of today’s society and an evolving definition of 'love for the game,'" Belichick wrote. 

Per Michelle R. Martinelli and Cory Woodroof of For the Win/USA Today, multiple players who were ultimately selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft sat out what they deemed to be meaningless bowl games this past college season so they could stay healthy as they prepared to begin their pro careers. Somewhat interestingly, ESPN's Mike Reiss shared on Sunday how Washington State wide receiver Kyle Williams playing in the 2024 Holiday Bowl "appealed" to the New England Patriots.

A Patriots team led by first-year New England head coach Mike Vrabel selected Williams with overall draft pick No. 69. Vrabel is a Patriots Hall of Famer who earned three Super Bowl rings playing under Belichick from 2001-08.

"Godspeed to any UNC player who enters Belichick’s office to inform him he is opting out of a bowl game," Ubben wrote. 

There's little Belichick could actually do to punish a player who opts out of a bowl game to either enter the transfer portal or to begin preparing for life in the NFL. That said, the book details how one sign that New England players saw on their way into the team facility during Belichick's time with the franchise included a message that encouraged them to "put team first."

Either intentionally or unintentionally, Belichick's North Carolina players now know how he'll feel if any one of them views a game as optional during his tenure with the university.