One can almost hear The Office’s intro playing in the background. Just picture a bustling Geico call center or a Dairy Queen kitchen buzzing with the talks of bracket predictions instead of Dunder Mifflin’s paper-pushing. Every spring, March Madness sweeps the nation, turning workplaces into a tournament of friendly rivalry. And with a number of college teams seeking glory in a single-elimination format, the odds of predicting a perfect bracket are 1 in 9.2 quintillion. If you thought you could get lucky because of your extensive basketball knowledge, think again. Even with the hoops know-how, the chances are just 1 in 120.2 billion.

Into this madness steps Warren Buffett, the 94-year-old billionaire at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway, a $900 billion-plus company that employs about 395,000 people across its 60-plus subsidiaries. Known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” since 2014, he’s spiced up March for his workforce with an exclusive bracket contest—no entry fee, just pure opportunity. What began as a quirky tradition has changed into a lavish perk. What a great strategy to have employees look forward to a workday!

Now, understand that the Berkshire Hathaway bracket challenge is no ordinary office pool. It has a $1 million a year for life prize if an employee nails the outcome of each game. 60,000 to 70,000 participants every year—roughly one in six Berkshire employees—took a shot, but the bar was sky-high, to say the least. Remember Dwayne Johnson, a steelworker at Precision Castparts (a Berkshire subsidiary), who in 2017 aced all but one game? He snagged $100,000 as the top performer but fell short of the grand prize under the old rules. In 2016 too, Kevin Willis of USLI and Robert Keller of Geico shared the prize after Middle Tennessee State University, a 15th seed, toppled 2nd seed Michigan State, ending the competition in just two days in March Madness 2016. Since then, each year at least one employee has won the $100,000 prize until this year.

Fast forward to 2025 and Buffet decided to shake things up. According to the Wall Street Journal, Warren Buffett has made a significant tweak to his March Madness competition that gives his employees a shot at a seven-figure payout. He’ll give $1 million to anyone who correctly nails at least 30 of the first 32 games, with $250,000 as a consolation for the best bracket if no one hits the mark. Buffett eased the rules because “I’m getting older… I want to give away a million dollars to somebody while I’m still around as chairman.”

That $1 million prize, a huge sum for the winners—perhaps enough to buy a home or retire early—is just 0.00061% of Buffett’s $163 billion net worth. Yet, for the employees at Geico, Dairy Queen, or beyond, it’s a golden ticket. With this year’s March Madness seeing unpredictable results scattered across the championship brackets, chances of getting all the predictions correct were slimmer. After Michigan State beat Bryant late Friday night, this year’s contest had multiple brackets that have one wrong—meaning 30 correct, resulting in the first-ever jackpot winner of Buffett’s contest being confirmed. Berkshire plans on announcing the identity of the winner (or winners) in a Monday press release.

But why should only Buffett’s employees have all the fun during March Madness? To ensure there’s no disparity, March Madness offers multiple contests with lucrative prizes up for grabs, even a trip to Mars.

America offers cash, food, tickets, and a Mars trip during March Madness

With March Madness in full swing, America is providing the opportunities to immerse in a frenzied experience. Apart from Warren Buffett’s contest, Elon Musk has announced a never-before chance this year — a trip to Mars. According to his X Bracket Challenge, a free trip to Mars is up for grabs for anyone who predicts the March Madness bracket correctly. But this is a prize that comes down the line. For now, there’s a $250,000 cash prize, one year of free Starlink service, and a chance to send a personal item to space on a Falcon 9 launch. In case of no clear winner, the best bracket will win $100,000.

Apart from Musk, multiple food chains are offering free meals for the perfect predictor. One of them is Jesse’s Burgers & Shakes in Texas, offering free burgers for life for a perfect bracket. Currito’s from Florida, Illinois, and Maryland are also offering free meals per week for a year.

To make March Madness even sweeter, ESPN has $135,000 upwards in cash waiting for the perfect bracket. USA Today is topping that with their $1 million prize too. Lucky winners of the NCAA contest have the opportunity to win free tickets to the Final Four next year. All you have to do is be in the top 1% for both men’s and women’s championship brackets. The tournament isn’t called March Madness for nothing. But so far no lucky winner has been announced for the aforementioned contests apart from the one hosted by Warren Buffett. Watch out Michael Scott, you have a competition for the Best Boss ever!