SEC and ACC's March Madness payouts revealed

The ACC was the biggest monetary winner of March Madness due to the success of NC State, who made their first Final Four appearance in 41 years with a Cinderella run from the No. 11 seed in the South Region, Clemson and Duke, who made the Elite Eight, and UNC, who made the Sweet 16. Meanwhile, the SEC was right behind them after Alabama made their first Final Four and Tennessee made the Elite Eight.

Sportico's Lev Akabas broke down how the payouts were distributed; with the money going to the conferences as opposed to the individual schools.

"The NCAA distributes revenue to its member institutions via a complex series of funds, the largest of which is based on March Madness performance. Instead of giving that money directly to the schools, however, the governing body pays it out to the conferences using a system called 'units,'"Akabas prefaced before saying, "Every conference earns one 'unit' for each tournament game its teams play prior to the final. 

"This year, the ACC earned 17 units for the 17 games that its teams will play prior to the final. Based on NCAA revenue projections, Sportico calculates that each unit will be worth approximately $2 million, for a total of $34 million. The SEC, which claimed last year’s largest unit haul, finished just behind the ACC this year, as the eight teams it sent to the tournament earned 16 units worth $32 million. The Big 12 and Big Ten were also close with 15 units apiece."

Clemson and UNC helped ACC money it may never see

Clemson and UNC may have made the Elite Eight and Sweet 16, respectively, but there's a chance that the money they helped the ACC win won't be distributed to them in the future if they escape the conference like they want to.

FSU is already one foot out the door given the court filing that has the phrase "after FSU leaves the ACC." Once Clemson and UNC follow suit, those payouts will go to the programs that don't similar look for a way out of the ACC's Grant of Rights.