Morning Edition

September 4, 2026

Michael Lombardi, the highest-paid GM in college football, has stepped down just over a month after the University of North Carolina placed him on paid administrative leave. His resignation comes amid a school investigation into a personnel complaint against him. Meanwhile, to the south, a court decision in Louisiana is shaking up college sports.

—David Rumsey

First Up

A judge ruled that several players who participated in NFL preseason activities can return to college, opening the door for them to play at LSU.
First at FOS: Officials at three tennis tournaments tell Front Office Sports that prediction markets have approached them about marketing partnerships.
Multiple private-equity firms purchased minority stakes in the Seahawks as part of the Khosla family’s $9.6 billion acquisition of the Seattle franchise.
Enes Kanter Freedom is suing the Chicago Sky, alleging the WNBA team violated his First Amendment rights when it removed him from a game.

UNC GM Michael Lombardi Resigns As School Investigation Continues

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North Carolina football GM Michael Lombardi has resigned just over a month after the university placed him on paid administrative leave on July 27.

UNC had also launched an investigation into a personnel complaint against Lombardi, who was the highest-paid GM in college football with a salary of $1.5 million. The school’s announcement of Lombardi’s resignation late Thursday afternoon said it “will continue its ongoing investigation and will consider all appropriate corrective actions responsive to the information it learns.”

Lombardi, a longtime confidant of UNC coach Bill Belichick in their NFL days, said in his own statement Thursday that he “decided it’s best for me to resign my position as GM to allow the team to focus on the ’26 season,” while thanking Belichick and UNC chancellor Lee Roberts.

In addition to Lombardi’s situation, UNC investigators are “questioning people about whether [Bill Belichick’s son and] defensive coordinator Steve Belichick used drugs on the job or provided drugs to at least one player—and, separately, about whether a member of UNC’s recruiting staff had a sexual relationship with a player,” sources told WRAL News. They also “asked about possible sexual relationships between assistant coaches and recruiting staff,” according to the report.

Lombardi’s contract was for three years, running through the 2027 college football season. Before the 2025 season began, Lombardi drew scrutiny for a trip to Saudi Arabia, which UNC said was “at the request of a Saudi national who is a college football fan, interested in supporting Coach Belichick.”

The Tar Heels upset TCU on Saturday in the marquee matchup of Week 0, beating the Horned Frogs 15–10 in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic—an annual game in Dublin, Ireland. UNC-TCU averaged 4.9 million viewers on ESPN, which was up 10% from last year’s Ireland game between Kansas State and Iowa State. Last year’s TCU-UNC season opener in Chapel Hill, Belichick’s debut as a college football head coach, drew 6.6 million viewers on ESPN on Labor Day in primetime.

Belichick is in the second season of a five-year, $50 million contract at UNC, which put together a top-15 recruiting class for the 2026–27 season. The Tar Heels host FCS school East Tennessee State on Sept. 12 in their home opener.

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EXCLUSIVE

Dianna Russini ‘Absolutely’ Planning Sports Media Comeback

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Former senior NFL insider Dianna Russini is looking to make a comeback after leaving The Athletic in April, sources tell Front Office Sports. On Thursday, her former employer publicly released findings of its investigation into her relationship with Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, which led to her resignation. With the season less than a week away, several outlets are actively trying to hire her, including Barstool Sports.

DAILY SPORTS TRIVIA

Can you rank the top five unique golfers by how many consecutive weeks they’ve spent at world No. 1?

LOUD AND CLEAR

Tense Tennis Exchange

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“Think before you say stuff.”

—Women’s tennis world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka ending an exchange with a reporter during her US Open press conference Wednesday. The exchange started when the reporter asked about her mood in the first week of the tournament, adding, “Obviously, last week it’s lots of parties and fun and stuff like that.” The Belarusian took umbrage at the question for equating her brand sponsorship appearances with partying. Sabalenka has deals with Emirates, Gucci, and Stella Artois, among other companies. When the reporter continued by asking, “Now that the tournament’s started, do you find you’re getting quite serious and combative?” she met it with sarcasm: “Oh, yeah, I wasn’t serious before that. Next question.” The reporter tweeted that Sabalenka texted him later to apologize.