Highest-paid GM toils under Bill Belichick for 2-4 North Carolina

Michael Lombardi of North Carolina is the highest-paid general manager in college football this season, according to data released by USA Today on Thursday.

Lombardi is the only college football GM to earn at least $1 million, with total compensation in 2025 of $1.51 million. However, as the Tar Heels rank among the worst teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), UNC leaders aren't getting good value for their money.

Entering Week 9, North Carolina is 2-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play. UNC, led by head coach Bill Belichick, will host No. 16 Virginia on Saturday afternoon. The Tar Heels have yet to beat a Power Five conference opponent in 2025, and it's possible that UNC could go winless in the ACC this season.

Needless to say, it's disappointing that North Carolina is this subpar. The situation is made worse by the fact that Belichick's total pay in 2025 is $10,100,000, according to separate USA Today data, and Lombardi is the highest-paid GM.

Key takeaways on general managers' 2025 salaries

USA Today published the total pay and buyouts for all the general managers of programs in the power-four leagues. While only Lombardi earns at least $1 million, 13 general managers have a total pay of at least $500,000. Buyouts for general managers are still much lower than those for head coaches, although five GMs have buyouts of at least $1 million, and three more have buyouts of at least $750,000.

Lombardi's buyout is the highest at $3,187,500. Next are Ohio State's Mark Pantoni and Louisville's Vince Marrow, each with buyouts of $2,050,000. Among the top 20 highest-paid general managers, the ACC leads with seven, followed by the Southeastern Conference (SEC) with six, the Big Ten Conference with five and the Big 12 Conference with two.

The fact that the ACC checks in ahead of the other three leagues is a small sign of how conference members are working to establish the ACC as the clear No. 3 overall league behind the SEC and the Big Ten.