If you’re a basketball fan, it’s that time of year when everywhere you turn, people are talking about bubble teams, buzzer-beaters, and brackets. What is it? March Madness, of course! This time, there’ll be 68 teams vying to survive three weekends of games to be crowned as NCAA champions in both the men’s and women’s divisions.

But this year, it’s not just the action on the court making headlines. The spotlight is also on the cash flow—or, more specifically, the glaring financial gap between men’s and women’s basketball.

After years, women’s basketball scores big with March Madness victory

When it comes to NCAA basketball payouts, it’s all about the unit system. For every game played in the men’s tournament, teams earn a “unit” worth about $2 million. These units contribute to a massive $264 million pie distributed among conferences over six years.

For the women, 2024 marks a groundbreaking year. For the first time, payouts will be distributed for tournament performance. “I can’t tell you how excited we are to have an opportunity to run with it,” shared NCAA president Charlie Baker. Women’s teams will share $15 million in revenue this year—a big step forward, but still less than half the men’s $32 million payout.

Here’s where it gets complicated: Women’s basketball is actually getting a slightly larger share of its media revenue. The $15 million payout represents 26% of the women’s media rights value, compared to the men’s payout, which is 24% of their deal. Despite this 2% edge, the dollar amounts are vastly different due to the sheer size of the media rights agreements.

The men’s tournament is backed by an $8.8 billion media rights deal spread over eight years, starting in 2024. This partnership with CBS and Warner Bros. fuels the massive payouts seen in men’s basketball. On the other hand, the women’s tournament—while growing in popularity—operates under a significantly smaller deal valued at $65 million per tournament.

To put it into perspective, this new deal for the women’s tournament is 10 times larger than the previous agreement, highlighting the explosive growth of the sport. Despite this improvement, the gap in total revenue between the two tournaments underscores why women’s payouts remain far behind.

Despite shining on the court, women are shortchanged in cash

The payout disparity isn’t just about fairness. Instead, it’s more about sustainability and growth for women’s basketball. Conferences depend on these payouts to invest in facilities, scholarships, and coaching for their programs.

“It’s another step toward incentivizing more investment in the game at the college level,” shared UConn’s head coach Geno Auriemma. “More revenue distributed to more schools will only accelerate the growth of the sport.”

The good news? Progress is being made. For women, the allocation will grow to $25 million by 2028, equaling 41% of their media revenue. With fan interest at an all-time high, the sport has a golden opportunity to secure larger media deals and close the gap. Until then, women’s teams are playing hard for less.