Sprint's deal to carry the iPhone is worth about $20 billion, sources for the Wall Street Journal claim. Around the time the deal was made, CEO Dan Hesse reportedly told the Sprint board that in order to secure the iPhone, it would have to agree to buy 30.5 million units from Apple over the course four years, creating the $20 billion tally. Although the board ultimately agreed, it is said to have been resistant; one source describes the plan as a "bet-the-company kind of thing," a "staggering" blow to the company's operating income.
