The biggest three weeks in sports are coming to a climax this weekend. As big as the Final Four is for fans, March Madness is also big for business. From the NCAA to the schools to advertisers and gamblers, the money behind this tournament will surprise even the biggest ballers. You may never look at March basketball the same after this week’s Five For Friday.
#5: $10 million to highest-paid coach
University of Kansas coach Bill Self is the first college basketball coach to hit eight figures, and if the Jayhawks win the championship game, he also nets a $200,000 bonus. That’s on top of a $5.4 million base salary, retention bonus and a $240,000 stipend for private jet travel. How else will he get around the country to recruit the next Remy Martin?
#4: $170 million for New Orleans
That’s what host city New Orleans is predicted to net this weekend, no matter who wins the title. The Big Easy might see as many as 100,000 hoops fans celebrating the Final Four, and they’re ready to splurge on food, drinks, Ubers and that swanky French Quarter hotel to sleep off the hangover.
#3: $3.1 billion wagered
That’s how much Americans are expected to legally wager on this year’s tournament, which happens to be about three times the amount wagered on legal bets for the Super Bowl! In all fairness to the Big Game, March Madness includes 67 games over a few weeks compared with one single event.
#2: $13.8 billion in lost productivity
According to a 2022 WalletHub survey, companies are expected to lose $13.8 billion in productivity costs with distracted employees streaming during work hours. So why do employers allow office pools? While workers’ attention is at play, so is morale: four out of five employees say cheering on their teams at work boosts it.
#1: $19.6 billion for TV rights
That whopping figure is what CBS and Turner paid for tournament TV rights from 2011 through 2032, which is padding NCAA’s pockets. Last year, the NCAA generated over $1 billion in revenue from broadcast rights, ticket sales, corporate sponsorships and television advertising.
