When the Michigan Wolverines cut down the nets after winning the 2026 NCAA championship, it felt a bit more personal in our house. My daughter, Jamie, is a graduate of the University of Michigan — which makes us a “Go Blue!” household.
No one had a perfect March Madness bracket this year. In fact, no one ever has. With sixty-three games and so many variables, it’s fair to say no one ever will — the odds of correctly picking every winner are one in 9.2 quintillion.
When it comes to March Madness, brackets are about prediction.
When it comes to mediation, however, brackets are about communication.
A bracket is not a formal demand or offer — it is a structured and conditional proposal that provides valuable insight into the range within which a monetary dispute might be resolved.
Too often, though, both sides fixate on the midpoint — treating a proposed bracket as nothing more than a demand or offer for the midpoint in disguise.
It isn’t.
The midpoint matters — but a bracket conveys more than the midpoint alone. The floor matters. The ceiling matters. The width matters. The amount of proposed movement matters.
Different brackets can be used to create the exact same midpoint — but that does not mean they communicate the exact same message.
The perfect bracket does not shine a spotlight on any one number. It leaves room for interpretation — communicating valuable information clearly, credibly, and at the right time.
If you consider a bracket nothing more than another way to signal the midpoint, you risk ignoring everything else it conveys — you risk missing the forest for the trees.
There may never be a perfect bracket, but a timely and well-conceived bracket may be the perfect way to jump-start stalled negotiations.
As always, it would be my pleasure to assist you and your clients in the dispute resolution process. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can be of service.
Best regards . . .
Floyd J. Siegal