There’s a lot of money to be made off March Madness. At $122 billion, the amount of spending the NCAA’s annual basketball tournament generates is equal to Iceland’s GDP. That total includes $614 million in TV advertising, $300 million in NCAA merchandise, and $185 million in corporate sponsorship. So why aren’t the athletes paid? Joe Nocera is Op-Ed Columnist for The New York Times.
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!