North Carolina GM Michael Lombardi opens up on Michael Jordan's impact on football program: 'More important than opening up his billfold'

Whether it was as a two-time All-American in the early 1980s, or as a multi-billionaire booster following his Hall of Fame NBA career, Michael Jordan has left an indelible mark on the entire University of North Carolina athletic department. That includes on the gridiron, where the Tar Heels football team is in the midst of a bit of a renaissance in the first season with six-time NFL champion Bill Belichick as head coach.

But in the day and age of revenue-sharing, NIL (name, image and likeness), and the NCAA Transfer Portal, the financial side of college football is of the utmost importance to a program’s success. North Carolina’s football team has a special appreciation for Jordan that has nothing to do with his money.

“Look, Michael Jordan’s presence is more important than opening up his billfold. Michael Jordan involved with our program is what matters,” UNC football general manager Michael Lombardi said Thursday on The Pat McAfee Show. “I have three jerseys in my office. I’m in the football office and I hung three jerseys on the wall here – Julius Peppers, the great Lawrence Taylor, and Michael Jordan. That’s who we are.”

Since officially retiring from the NBA following the 2003 season, Jordan has become a hugely successful businessman and entrepreneur with a net worth of $3.8 billion, according to Forbes. That includes joint ventures with sports-betting firm DraftKings and becoming a NASCAR team co-owner of 23XI Racing.

But for Lombardi and the North Carolina staff, Jordan’s mere presence in and around the program is worth more than its weight in gold.

“I think to me him wanting to be involved, him wanting to give us the Jordan Brand – which I wear every single day – that’s really important,” Lombardi continued. “Because no matter how long he’s been away from the game, the kids know Michael Jordan, they know the logo and he has a tremendous impact on them. So financially, to me, that’s more important than that. Sometimes you have to understand the value of what a donor brings to the table, and sometimes it’s not always cash.”

Bill Belichick explains how North Carolina will handle national attention of his college debut

One of the most underrated matchups of the opening weekend, however, is the matchup between TCU and North Carolina on Sept. 1. It signifies the first college football game that legendary head coach Bill Belichick has ever coached in.

The national media will have eyes all over Chapel Hill this weekend for the monumental event. ESPN is even hosting its ‘College Football Countdown Show‘ live from North Carolina‘s campus one night prior to kickoff. Belichick discussed dealing with national attention ahead of his collegiate debut on Wednesday.

“We’ve just got to control what we can control,” Belichick said. “We can control our preparation, our attitude and our work ethic going into the game and how hard we compete and our communication. However many people are here or not here or however many hours they talk about it on a network show or don’t talk about it, it’s really nothing in our control. It’s irrelevant to us.”

“We’re trying to focus on what we can control helps us win and helps us prepare for the game. And so, the rest of it is all due respect noise for us. We have to focus on our job and let you guys do your job.”

— On3’s Daniel Hager contributed to this report.