The Super Bowl may be the single most-watched sporting event in America. But for millions of rabid and casual fans alike, nothing beats March Madness. This year, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark shattered “Pistol Pete” Maravich’s 1970 record to become the top scorer in Division I college basketball history, leading her Hawkeyes to a 31-4 record and Big Ten championship. That was enough to earn Iowa a #1 seed in the Big Dance. But nobody is a guaranteed winner, and Clark faced stiff competition from the likes of LSU’s Angel Reese, USC’s Juju Watkins, and Uconn’s Paige Bueckers. The spectacle has become so popular there’s even a men’s division.
March Madness has been entertaining fans since 1939, when the Oregon Webfoots crushed the Ohio State Buckeyes, 46-33, to emerge as champions. Since then, it’s become big business, too. This year, the men’s tournament will generate $1.2 billion dollars in broadcast rights, merchandising, ticket sales, and corporate sponsorships. The women’s tournament will add over $600 million more. So it’s no surprise that money is crowding out tradition and threatening to change the freewheeling character of the event. Naturally, that means big money for tax collectors, too.
The biggest questions right now involve deciding who gets to play. Both men’s and women’s tournaments include 68 teams. Thirty-two conference champions automatically qualify, while the tournament selection committee invites the remaining thirty-six (and turns the “Selection Sunday” announcement into its own moneymaker). Naturally, there are voices calling to expand the tournaments to 76, 80, or even 96 teams. That would certainly give more programs (and more tax collectors) a chance to cash in. But it could also render the regular season even more meaningless than it already is.
The current structure gives teams from smaller conferences like the Ivy League the chance to upset bigger-name schools, like St. Peter’s (who?) over Kentucky in 2022, or Yale over Auburn this go-round. But not everyone appreciates that particular diversity. Greg Sankey, who makes $3.7 million per year as commissioner of the SEC, thinks the current structure gives too many of those precious slots to the bracket-busting Cinderellas that make March Madness so much fun. In short, he wants more of his own SEC teams competing so he can make more money. (A married taxpayer earning $3.7 million in Sankey’s hometown of Birmingham pays about $1.3 million in federal income tax, $95,000 in FICA, and $120,000 in Alabama tax.)
These questions coincide with new rules letting college athletes cash in on “name, image, and likeness” (NIL) rights. Players don’t get paid yet, although the Dartmouth team’s decision to unionize last month may help change that. In the meantime, college athletes can now sign endorsement deals just like the pros. Caitlin Clark has already signed contracts with Gatorade, State Farm, and Nike. (Can you imagine “Caitlin from State Farm”?) Angel Reese has signed with Coach and McDonalds and shared an ad for a Goldman Sachs investing initiative highlighting the wealth gap between black and white women. NIL rights are especially valuable for athletes from “nonrevenue” sports like gymnastics, which don’t lead to professional opportunities. And as an added bonus, they give college athletes the chance to learn about 1099s, 1040s, and K-1s at the same time they wrestle with topics like anatomy, calculus, and geology (aka “rocks for jocks”). Yay!
Basketball fans will read anything they can about March Madness—including this lame email. But where there’s big money, there’s usually a tax collector waiting to catch his share. Fortunately, we’re here to play defense for you. So polish up your footfakes and three-point shots to make the money while we use our moves to help you keep it!