The NCAA's cut is probably less than that because they take 75% of the net rather than the gross so the host schools take out their expenses before they divvy up the pie. The value of these games to the media partner (ESPN) is what really isn't known. The FCS playoffs go into the same TV contract as a boatload of other NCAA championships. I believe the latest contract was signed back in 2011 and was for 12 years and $500M (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-e...7BE2FM20111215). How much of that $40M+ annually can be attributed to the FCS playoffs? I don't know but I'd bet it's not insignificant since ESPN does give the FCS playoffs 5 spots on their national networks each year... it would be interesting to see what the deal would be if the NCAA ever bid out the TV contract for just the FCS playoffs.
Nope, it's whatever the higher number is between those two amounts.
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