The NCAA's Billion-Dollar Dilemma

The NCAA’s broadcasting contract with CBS may be in jeopardy: within the next year, the league must decide whether to stick with its existing 11-year $6 billion contract—good until 2013—or opt out in search of a better deal. Opting out would mean forgoing guaranteed money over the next few years to test an uncertain free agent market during an downturn; amidst a significantly bleaker economic climate that existed at the time of the deal. One CBS exec said he’d “rather not anticipate life at CBS Sports without it”—a predictable stance given the $1 million price tag of an ad during the championship game.