March Madness ads sold out “earlier than it has historically.” Did NIL influencer deals play a part?

The current college basketball landscape looks completely different from where it was a few years ago, but at least one part of the industry has remained consistent: Brands love advertising against March Madness. With three days to go until the NCAA Division I basketball tournament tips off, virtually all of the inventory that will air across CBS and Warner Bros Discovery networks has sold out.

News of the sellout comes from the Sports Business Journal, which cited comments made by Paramount Advertising EVP and Head of Sports Sales Ryan Briganti during a March 12 call with reporters. Briganti noted that March Madness inventory is always popular, since it’s a major sporting event and its timing meshes well with the ad industry’s upfront season.

Even with those caveats in mind, buyers are loving March Madness in 2025. “This marketplace picked up earlier than it has historically,” Briganti said. “It’s got a huge head start, even before you get to the upfront,” added Paul Diament, the Chief U.S. Advertising Sales Officer at Warner Bros. Discovery. Diament said that 50% of the inventory was sold in advance.

Sports championships have always been marquee events for TV broadcasters; 19 of the 25 most-watched TV programs of all time are Super Bowls. Over the past two months, however, live event coverage has become even more lucrative for ad networks. Super Bowl LIX spots went for $8 million apiece, with FOX making even more money through the FAST hub Tubi. Oscars ads sold out at $2 million a pop, and now March Madness is seeing stronger buyer momentum than in a typical year.

Streaming platforms may be partially responsible for that trend. Netflix has made bank and gained subscribers through one-off live events like the Jake Paul/Mike Tyson fight, and broadcasts of that ilk are suddenly hot commodities.

For March Madness in particular, influencer marketing deals are also becoming prominent pieces of the pie. Now that college athletes can profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL), they are hauling in sponsors hand over fist, and that activity is reshaping the college sports ad market.

NIL licensing is a particularly big deal for female athletes. Stars like Caitlin Clark have increased their name recognition by starring in national commercials, and earnings have trickled down to less heralded athletes as well.

Recent research from Out2Win shows just how big the NCAA creator economy has become. Women accounted for 63% of the 784 social media sponsorships that featured college basketball athletes during March Madness 2024. Tournament-time sponsorships headlined by male athletes did generate higher engagement, with 3.2 million sponsored engagements compared to 1.2 million engagements for the posts featuring female athletes.

By turning the Caitlin Clarks of the world into marketable stars, brands have introduced college basketball to new fans and seemingly increased demand for inventory. ESPN, the official broadcaster of the women’s tournament, has sold out its ad inventory for the Final Four — and the rising tide is lifting boats on the men’s side of the bracket as well.