Here’s how much UNC basketball will pay, receive for 2025-26 nonconference games
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- UNC will pay $650,000 to eight teams for 2025-26 nonconference home games.
- Carolina will earn over $750,000 from games against BYU and Ohio State alone.
- Fort Myers Tip-Off offers UNC additional revenue though contract terms remain sealed.
North Carolina men’s basketball recently released its nonconference schedule, which includes nine games at the Dean Smith Center on UNC’s campus, and the Tar Heels paid their opponents handsomely to secure those dates.
The Tar Heels are set to pay $650,000 to eight nonconference teams, one of which is an exhibition game, according to documents obtained through a public records request.
What UNC will pay
UNC will pay between $80,000 and $95,000 to its seven regular season nonconference opponents, while Winston-Salem State receives $25,000 for an exhibition game on Oct. 29.
Radford (Nov. 11) and East Carolina (Dec. 22) will each receive $85,000.
Central Arkansas (Nov. 3), N.C. Central (Nov. 14), Navy (Nov. 18) and East Tennessee State (Dec. 16) will each receive $90,000 in guaranteed compensation.
USC Upstate (Dec. 13), whom N.C. State played last season at Lenovo Center, tops the list with a $95,000 guaranteed payment to play UNC.
The Tar Heels also host Kansas on Nov. 7 and Georgetown on Dec. 7. UNC’s game against Kansas is the second in a two-game agreement. Last season, the Jayhawks outlasted Carolina in a 92-89 second-half thriller.
The Georgetown matchup will be the first of two games between the teams. The second is set to take place in Washington, D.C., next winter. Neither contract includes a guaranteed payment for either team.
What UNC will receive
Carolina, however, will be on the receiving end of payments for its participation in an exhibition against BYU, the CBS Sports Classic and the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
The Tar Heels will receive a whopping $500,000 for playing projected Top-25 BYU on Oct. 24 in an exhibition at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, roughly 45 minutes away from the Cougars’ campus in Provo.
BYU is coming off a 2025 Sweet 16 appearance and features top freshman AJ Dybantsa, and Baylor transfer Robert Wright.
Additionally, Carolina is set to receive at least $250,000 for playing Ohio State on Dec. 20 as part of the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta. UNC has played in every season of the event and has received a guaranteed rate every year since its inception in 2014.
Those two events alone will cover the cost of the program’s payments to its other nonconference opponents.
UNC is expected to receive financial incentive for participating in the Fort Myers Tip-Off during Thanksgiving week. But, in response to the N&O’s public records request, the university said no record was available for release under state law.
Michigan State, East Carolina and St. Bonaventure join the Tar Heels in the tournament field, with games played Nov. 25 and Nov. 27.
UNC’s season opener is scheduled for Nov. 3, when it welcomes Central Arkansas to Chapel Hill. This is head coach Hubert Davis’ fifth season at the helm after the program overhauled the roster. The Tar Heels were one of the last four teams into the NCAA Tournament last season.
This story was originally published July 8, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Here’s how much UNC basketball will pay, receive for 2025-26 nonconference games."
