Since the inception of the NCAA tournament (maybe), office pools and sponsored contests have allowed college basketball fans to profit off March Madness. Depending on the stakes, winners can earn sizable payouts for successful brackets.
Well, Warren Buffett just entered (and changed) the game.
Warren Buffett is offering ONE BILLION DOLLARS to anyone who fills out a perfect March Madness bracket this year.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 21, 2014
The world’s fourth-richest man, per Forbes, with a net worth of $58.5 billion, and Quicken Loans, owned by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, have joined forces to (potentially) welcome a new member to their Billionaires Club.
For the perfect bracket, of course. Get them all right and Buffett will give you a billion dollars. Oprah money.
According to Slate.com (via BusinessInsider.com), if someone overcomes those 1 in 9.2 quintillion odds and submits an error-free bracket, Buffett and Quicken Loans will be pay them (multiple winners are allowed but would have to share) 40 annual installments of $25 million. Want it all right away? There’s a $500 million lump sum option.
And there’s more.
"It is our mission to create amazing experiences for our clients. This contest, with the possibility of creating a billionaire, definitely fits that bill," Jay Farner, President and Chief Marketing Officer of Quicken Loans, said in a statement. He added: "We've seen a lot of contests offering a million dollars for putting together a good bracket, which got us thinking, what is the perfect bracket worth? We decided a billion dollars seems right for such an impressive feat."
In addition to the grand prize, Quicken will award $100,000 each to the contest's 20 most accurate "imperfect" brackets submitted by qualified entrants in the contest to use toward buying, refinancing or remodeling a home. Quicken will also donate $1 million to inner-city Detroit and Cleveland non-profits.
So it’s simple, really.
Enter the contest and identify every winner in the 2014 NCAA tournament from the first round through the national title game and you’ll win a billion dollars.
No pressure.