https://sports.yahoo.com/report-bill-belichicks-north-carolina-163554021.html
Here’s another reason for folks at North Carolina to be nervous.
Tar Heels football coach Bill Belichick has not yet signed his contract, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports.
The failure of Belichick to sign the deal raises questions about whether he’d owe a penny of his $10 million buyout if he were to bolt for another job, specifically in the NFL.
Belichick signed a term sheet last month, which laid out the basic parameters of the deal. It expressly contemplates the subsequent execution of a full-blown contract, with more terms and details.
In many cases, the term sheet creates a binding contract. As Jones notes, the term sheet Belichick signed specifically says it does not.
“The University proposes to enter into an Employment Agreement with Bill Belichick to serve as the Head Football Coach,” the term sheet says. “It is understood and agreed that this proposal of terms and conditions shall not constitute a binding agreement, and the parties intend to negotiate expeditiously and in good faith to finalize these terms and conditions into a long-form agreement.”
That’s a problem for the school, if Belichick wants to walk away without owing a penny. The term sheet specifically says it’s not a contract. So there’s apparently no contract.
Which helps to explain why people with the school and the ACC are feeling anxious about what might happen next. The best thing they have going for them is that no NFL team currently seems to be interested in Belichick. If one did, nothing would stop him from shaking the tar off his heels and heading back to the only level of coaching he has known.
That said, UNC would have to decide whether to sue if Belichick were to bolt without a buyout. It easily could be argued, however, that the school only has itself to blame for not insisting that Belichick sign the contract.
Even though he has started working, he’s basically an at-will employee — if he doesn’t have a binding contract. He can leave at any time, without or without cause and with or without notice.
Thus, the lack of a contract becomes something else to notice when it comes to whether Belichick has engineered a way out. And if the school or Belichick want us to not notice, there’s an easy way to get there.
Sign the damn contract.
https://sports.yahoo.com/report-bill-belichicks-north-carolina-163554021.html
