Terms of the new deal call for CBS Sports and Turner to provide live coverage of all NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship games “across any platform within their respective portfolios, including those to be created over the life of the agreement.”
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By simple measure, the staggering sum amounts to more than $25 million per each one of the 351 Division I basketball programs as of the 2015-16 season over the course of the eight-year deal — though the money won’t be divided that way.
The NCAA, in its news release, says the deal “ensures student-athletes across all three NCAA divisions will continue to be supported through a broad range of championship opportunities.”
Still, the 10-figure deal comes at a time when advocates are calling for top-tier college athletes to reap a greater share of the huge amounts of revenue their on-court and on-field efforts generate.
According to ESPN.com, the average annual price for March Madness rights jumped from $771 million from 2011-2024 to $1.1 billion from 2025-2032.
Like the current deal, the extension calls for the Final Four championship game to alternate between CBS and TBS, which carried the final on pay-TV for the first time this spring.
