In case you haven’t noticed, the ACC is dominating the NCAA Tournament this year. Thanks to a mega TV deal for the tournament, that domination pays pretty well.
The conference sent a record six teams to the Sweet 16 and will make up half of the field for the Elite Eight. All four are on the same side of the bracket, meaning two will make the Final Four and one will compete for a championship.
One year after raking in a record $32.8 million last year with Duke winning the National Championship, the ACC is already set to top that number with a record $39.9 million, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.
ACC finishes with 25 units for the 2016 NCAA Tournament, which is a record. Those units will be worth at least $39.9 million to conference.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 26, 2016
The NCAA pays out per unit earned, which is awarded to a conference based on a single game played, and the ACC earned 25 this season. Units, which do not include the championship game, are paid out at $265,791 per game and will increase in value over the next five years through 2021.
Payouts will be split up between each school in the ACC over a six-year period beginning this year. The funds come as a result of a 14-year, $10.8 billion deal signed with CBS and Turner in 2011, which is $771 million per year.
While the conference will see a record payout this season, the players still see none of those funds. Fortunately, they are provided with free wifi for their efforts, so there’s that.
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