March Money: The Business Behind the Madness
Sport plays a unique place in culture. Serving as a gateway, sport serves as a safe place and platform that bridges past cultural, socioeconomic, racial, religious, political, and other polarizing barriers. And it finds its way into the market in a big way! Enter: March Madness. The NCAA’s holy grail money-generator.
The Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament seems bigger this year than merely any year prior in its rich tradition. After being canceled last year, this year serves as a welcome reprieve from reality for many. And though there may be no (or very limited fans) in attendance, it doesn’t still mean that there isn’t a great financial gain to be won.
Despite the attendance restrictions, the tournament will still expected to bring in $1+Billion dollars in media advertising for its broadcast (CBS Sports and Turner Sports) partners, with challenged industries, like automotive and food service, eagerly positioning their respective products in front of attentive consumers.
Below is a brief overview of some fun financial facts about the Final Four that make it a big business for all stakeholders:
Though potato chip makers and chains of pizza, wings, and beer are large winners of the tournament--experiencing a sales uptick of 2+% - 9+%--casual-dining and related partners are all first-line financial benefactors of tournament time
Up to 20 million people are expected to watch the final game, with 47 million expected to place bets throughout the tournament
The NCAA splits up much of the $700-plus million dollars its men’s basketball tournament makes each year
$200+ million is distributed for those competing (and their conferences)
Even if your college basketball team doesn’t win a game, the respective team earns $1.67 million--with an understanding that it is partially distributed throughout the respective conference. A round-of-16 appearance rakes in almost $5 million. A Final Four run? $8.3 million.
Smaller conferences exponentially benefit from a basketball tournament appearance with such involvement constituting for nearly 70 percent of their annual revenue.
1st Time a single state will host the tournament in its entirety.
The economic impact for Indianapolis--even amid a pandemic--is north of $100 Million
$600 Million was the revenue lost for the 2020 canceled tournament
$279 Million insurance policy mitigated total losses incurred for the 2020 tournament
$8.2 Million: Salary for the University of Kentucky’s John Calipari (highest paid college basketball coach)
$334.2 Million: Estimated value of the University of Kentucky basketball program--generating a 3-year average profit of $31.2 Million
$168.6 Million: NCAA’s basketball fund’s 2021 distribution to D1 schools
17,500: Lucas Oil Stadium’s capacity for Final Four at 25% capacity
$71,400: Average D1 men’s athlete basketball scholarship for one year
$0: Paid to players for participation in the tournament