The University of North Carolina has publicly released the employment agreements detailing how the school will compensate its two top athletic officials during a planned 24-month leadership transition.
As part of a contract extension signed last month, current athletic director Bubba Cunningham will receive $903,000 in base compensation annually over the next two years, including his first year serving in his new role as “senior advisor.” Cunningham was hired as UNC’s top athletics official in 2011.
His successor, former RFK Racing president Steve Newmark, will earn $600,000 in the upcoming academic year while shadowing Cunningham, before formally becoming athletic director next summer. At that point, Newmark’s base salary will rise to $1 million annually through June 2029, according to his contract.
For the 2026-27 academic year, UNC will effectively be paying both men athletic director salaries, with Cunningham earning only slightly less than Newmark in base pay. Both men will also be eligible for the same performance bonuses, which could add hundreds of thousands of dollars to their compensation. Incentives include five-figure payouts if Tar Heels men’s or women’s basketball teams secure NCAA Tournament bids or if UNC football, now coached by Bill Belichick, reaches a bowl game.
Incidentally, both Newmark and Cunningham will earn less in base pay than Belichick’s son, Steve Belichick ($1.3 million), UNC’s newly hired defensive coordinator, as well as football general manager Mike Lombardi ($1.5 million).
From July 2027 through June 2029, following his first year in the new role, Cunningham will earn $540,000 in base salary plus a discretionary bonus equal to half his pay. He is also eligible for eight more “longevity incentive compensation awards” of $110,409 each—totaling $883,272—between now and June 2027. In 2026 alone, those incentives could provide him nearly half a million dollars on top of his base pay, meaning Cunningham would substantially out-earn his successor during the transition year.
Cunningham will also report directly to the university’s chancellor—not to Newmark—and be “administratively integrated” with the office of the vice chancellor for finance & operations, a structure that suggests his compensation may be paid outside of the athletic department’s budget. Cunningham’s new role will focus on development and fundraising, advising on NIL issues, and representing UNC in conversations with Congress and other government officials. He will also teach a course for undergraduate or MBA students.
Cunningham is one of a number of high-profile athletic directors who have chosen to step aside amid the rapidly changing rules regarding college athlete compensation and governance. Others in the last two years include Ohio State’s Gene Smith, Notre Dame’s Jack Swarbrick and Oklahoma’s Joe Castiglione.