Do Americans work less during March Madness? The tournament could cost the US economy up to $20 billion
As March Madness begins, millions of Americans will be tuning in, potentially distracting them from work and costing the U.S. economy billions.
March Madness is one of the most popular sporting events in America with millions of viewers each year. People who make brackets and bets are of course even more invested.
THE BRACKET 🙌#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/fo6lA8hJ7g
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 16, 2025
However, the games don’t always fall outside of working hours, meaning plenty of Americans are watching during working hours.
March Madness could be costing U.S. economy billions
According to a recent survey conducted by Action Network, the popular NCAA tournament could cause the U.S. economy to lose approximately $20 billion in “lost productivity”.
The study surveyed 3,000 college basketball fans who work full-time between February 20-26, 2025. Of those, 40% admitted that they have called in sick to stay home and watch March Madness. Even those who aren’t missing full work days are spending 2.4 hours per day checking scores, brackets, and live-streaming the game on their devices. And 23% of fans averaged four or more hours a day checking up on the games.
Action Network also found that the average worker watching March Madness games costs the U.S. economy an estimated $1,801.30 billion. If we consider the millions of workers in America who are tuning into games, that adds up to their estimated $20 billion in lost hours, an increase from 2023’s estimated $17.3 billion.
A new study has shown that March Madness costs the American economy $17.3 billion.
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) March 19, 2023
Those are rookie numbers. Next year let’s aim for $25 B pic.twitter.com/Yk1RzJR0P1
The games begin today, March 18 with the men’s First Four, although at least they are evening games with the first two beginning at 6:40 p.m. ET and the next two at 9:10 p.m. ET. The women’s tournament will conclude on April 6 and the men’s tournament will conclude on April 7 in San Antonio for the national championship games.
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