Here’s how much UNC football will pay, receive for 2025 nonconference games
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- UNC will pay $600,000 to TCU and Richmond for 2025 nonconference matchups.
- UNC will receive $400,000 from Charlotte and UCF under home-and-home agreements.
- Contract shifts, including a future Ireland game, altered original payout schedules.
Football season is fewer than two months away, and nonconference opponents are getting big payouts.
North Carolina is set to pay $600,000 in guarantees this season, according to contracts obtained through public records requests, but will also receive payments for a pair of games.
Here’s how much UNC is e expected to dish out — and gain — in the upcoming season.
What UNC will pay
North Carolina’s schedule is favorable for the Tar Heels’ pocketbook, with a pair of buy games, one each at home and on the road.
UNC, under first-year head coach Bill Belichick, opens its season on Sept. 1 against Big 12 opponent TCU and will pay the Horned Frogs $200,000 for their trip to Chapel Hill. The agreement was originally signed in 2016.
The teams were set to play in Fort Worth next season, with UNC receiving its own $200,000 payout, but that game was moved to Ireland as part of the 2026 College Football Classic. Carolina reportedly agreed to pay TCU an undetermined amount for the loss of a home game.
On Sept. 13, the Tar Heels host Richmond at Kenan Stadium in a singular game, to which the programs agreed in 2022. UNC will pay the Spiders $400,000 for their trip to Chapel Hill.
What UNC will receive
Carolina will receive compensation from two of its nonconference opponents this season since they are unaffiliated with the ACC.
UNC plays the second half of a two-game series with Charlotte on Sept. 6, which the institutions originally agreed to in August 2015. Last season, the Tar Heels defeated the 49ers, 38-20, at home and paid the in-state opponent $200,000. Charlotte will return the favor this season, paying the same amount as it received for UNC’s trip to the Queen City.
Finally, the Tar Heels play at Central Florida on Sept. 20. They will receive a $200,000 payment as part of another home-and-home series, which was signed in 2018. UCF was originally set to visit Chapel Hill last season but that game was postponed until 2027, per an amendment signed in 2021 to the original contract. The amendment, which states “UNC and UCF wish to make certain changes to the agreement,” does not include details regarding a cancellation fee.
Carolina will spend $600,000 in guaranteed payments and receive $400,000 this season, pending any unexpected changes. It plays six home games this season and three out of state. The Tar Heels’ longest road trip will be on Oct. 17, when they head west to play an ACC game at California.
This story was originally published July 7, 2025 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Here’s how much UNC football will pay, receive for 2025 nonconference games."