PRIZES
Last year I asked if you remembered when the NCAA took away Reggie Bush’s Heisman. Well guess what, Johnny Manziel stood for that. Nonetheless, here are the prizes for Madness 2025:
1st place: 80% of the pot + Madness trophy
2nd place: 20% of the pot
3rd place: $3.33
4th place: $4.44
5th place: $5.55
6th place: Skin for skin!
13th place: $13 + ($13 * (# of 13 seeds that make it to the Sweet 16))
20th place: A video of 20 people congratulating you on your success
43rd place: The Tyler Eckert Award
Sponsored by Tyler Eckert
50th place: $50 or 50¢
69th place: I hope your brother doesn’t walk in on your 69th Place Award – $8.99
Sponsored by NOTNA
100th place: A dollar, a handshake, and a classic “don’t be a stranger now”
420th place: A bag of kush
1000th place: $10.00
“Last place”: $15
Perfect First Round: $100
Perfect Bracket: Ask Scott Maki.
Random Winner #1: A prize specifically curated for you and your current situation
Random Winner #2: A prize specifically curated for you and your current situation
Random Winner #3: A prize specifically curated for you and your current situation
Random Winner #4: A prize specifically curated for you and your current situation
more faq
What is "Last place"?
Before the First Round begins, I will make a bracket where the winner of each game is decided by flipping a coin, come to be now known as CoinFlip. 16 seeds will beat 1 seeds. The bracket will be busted instantly or flourish into the Sweet Sixteen. You would think that this doesn’t have a good chance of succeeding, right? However, years prior, CoinFlip has actually done pretty well and managed to have respectable finishes. Now, consider the fact over the last 4 years, a coin has on average, managed to beat 36% of all the teams who joined Madness. Looking at this, we simply cannot reward this outcome. In the pool, “Last place” is seen as the bracket that finishes exactly one position ahead of CoinFlip in the standings. This means, if you finish after CoinFlip, you technically placed worse than last. However, if you manage to just beat CoinFlip in the standings you will win the coveted “Last place” prize.
Is it possible that I or my organization sponsors a prize?
Not only is it possible, it is downright encouraged. For the low, low cost of $8.99, you could have a prize named after whatever you like. Feel free to reach out with any questions as well as any inquiries about optimal naming conventions. Some like to go with names like the 9th place finish sponsored by the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, while others prefer the classic Karman Suyama 14th place Nice List. So yeah, the answer is yes.
Why should I ask Scott Maki?
Because he knows the answer. Also, feel free to network and connect with him on LinkedIn, he only has a lowly 322 connections. Just be sure to start the conversation with “Hey Scott, what is the prize for a perfect bracket?”
Wait, so my entry fee is funding random prizes?
No. I thought including that gap would show that they are separate. I will make this more clear next time. All prizes from 1st place to the Perfect Bracket will come from the entry fees. It is not possible to know exactly what these will be until the tournament is almost complete. From there I will distribute the prizes from 3rd onwards and then finally calculate and distribute 1st and 2nd.
The benefit of joining Madness is that you don’t actually need to win, to win. In the past we have had multiple people win more than their entry costs by coming in one of these prized spots.
Furthermore, let it be known throughout the land that I, Jaryn Cole Bailey, noble son of Debbie Coleen Dudek of Esterhazy, do hereby decree that for the Random Prizes, I shall personally bestow a sum of $100, earned through the honorable trade of bracelet-selling upon the sun-drenched beaches of Mexico. Let all who seek fortune take heed, for destiny favors the bold!
You will receive 1 entry/bracket. The first 25 brackets submitted can choose the number that they would like to be assigned to them. Everyone else will automatically be assigned a number after these have been allocated. In order to be a Random Prize Winner, you must be tuned in to the Instagram Live following the conclusion of the National Championship game.
Hey, I won this in a previous year, where's my Madness trophy?
Working on it.