Correctly predicting the outcome of every game in the NCAA men's basketball tournament is no lay up.
There's now a $US1 billion ($A1.14 billion) prize waiting for anyone able to pull off the feat this spring.
Quicken Loans Inc announced on Tuesday that it will team with investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway on the "Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge."
The Detroit-based mortgage lender says any qualified entrant who correctly predicts the winners of every game in the tournament will be paid in 40 annual instalments of $US25 million ($A28.5 million).
A winner also can elect to receive an immediate $US500 million ($A569 million) lump-sum payment or share in that payment if there's more than one perfect bracket submitted.
It's a safe investment by Buffett's group.
ESPN has run a tournament challenge for the past 16 years that has included President Barack Obama - they have never had a perfect bracket in over 30 million entries according to the network.
CBS Sports, which also has run a pool for years, said it hasn't had a perfect entry either. Last season, no unblemished brackets made it through the round of 64.
Quicken Loans Inc said it will offer to split $US2 million among the 20 most accurate predictions submitted for the contest.
It will also donate $US1 million to educational charities in Detroit and Cleveland, the two cities that are the main focus of Quicken founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert's activities.
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