Just how large Sprint's "bet the company" move in agreeing to carry the iPhone at a high subsidy cost has been revealed in the company's 2011 10-K filing with the FTC. The carrier agreed to a minimum order of $15.5 billion in iPhones over the course of four years, and is projecting a deficit in 2012 in part due to the high subsidy it offers on each new model, up to $450 off the $850 full cost of a 64GB iPhone 4S.
