UNC football was absolutely awful last year, which is making the high season ticket renewal price tough to swallow.

When UNC hired Belichick just before the 2025 season, the season ticket price spiked by 69%, from $275 in 2024 to $465 in 2025, despite 2025 having one less home game than the prior season. On one hand I get it… UNC’s got some big “Bills” to pay between paying the players, coaches, and ongoing facility improvements. But the bigger budget clearly didn’t lead to more wins, with UNC finishing 4-8, their worst finish since 2018.

Despite last year’s disappointment, the university set the 2026 season ticket price at $470, a $5 increase from the huge spike in the prior year. Are UNC fans going to pay the price to give the team another chance? The optimist in me says this could be the year to watch a historic turnaround in person. The Heels will likely have four ranked opponents on their schedule (TCU, Notre Dame, Miami, and Louisville), with three of those matchups being played at home. I’d be kicking myself if UNC won all (or even just one) of those games and I wasn’t there.

I think we’ll find out pretty quick if this will be UNC’s year when UNC faces off against TCU in Ireland on August 29th. By the way, traveling to that game in Dublin is going to be a very tough sell for Heels fans after TCU spanked UNC 48-14 last season.

Season Ticket Prices are up 124% over the past five years; blame Belichick and the NIL era

And fans are getting less bang for their buck… UNC only won two home games last year, so the price per win was effectively $232.50.

However, UNC will host three ranked opponents this year (Notre Dame, Miami, and Louisville), so blind hope may help to sell the high ticket price

Looking Ahead…

Higher ticket prices are likely here to stay following the beginning of the NIL era in 2021. The reality is that we’re not just paying for a college football game anymore, we’re paying for the talent and infrastructure of a professional sports program. Most “Power Four” schools are budgeting $20M+ to pay the players. Notably, Tennessee already added an explicit 10% “talent fee” on top of their season ticket price to help cover their roster’s payroll. While UNC hasn’t added an explicit “talent fee”, the 124% jump in ticket prices over the past five years tells a similar story. In this modern-day arms race, hope isn’t just a feeling— it’s a line item on the university’s budget, and it’s coming out of the fans’ pockets.