Grand Slam Track Still Owes Athletes $13 Million: Source

Athletes who competed in Grand Slam Track this spring are still waiting for millions of dollars in prize money and appearance fees.

The track league promised to pay runners $12.6 million in prize money alone, offering higher payouts than previous standards in the sport. But only appearances fees from the first meet have been paid, and athletes are still missing out on about $13 million, according to one source familiar with the situation.

The Times of London first reported that Grand Slam still owed athletes money.

As first reported by Front Office Sports, the new track startup abruptly cancelled its fourth and final Slam in Los Angeles last month, but has promised to pay athletes the appearances fees they would’ve earned. The startup founded by Olympian Michael Johnson struggled with attendance, but posted modest TV ratings and made for a competitive product.

GST sent an email to athlete representatives Tuesday explaining the timeline.

“At this time, all agents who have sent the appropriate paperwork have been issued appearance fee payments for Kingston,” reads the email obtained by FOS. “Our plan is to make payments for Kingston prize money before the end of July and the remaining payments due by the end of September, which includes the honoring of Los Angeles appearance fees.”

The inaugural Kingston Slam was held in early April, followed by Miami during the first weekend of May and Philadelphia on May 31 and June 1. Each Slam featured 96 runners, with 48 “Racers” competing against a rotating cast of 48 “Challengers.”

GST boasted that it would disrupt the normal compensation standard in track by offering both a base salary and prize money. Half the field at the three meets in Kingston, Miami, and Philadelphia was composed of signed “Racers” who would be paid a base salary, while the rest of competitors were “Challengers” making a $2,000 appearance fee. While the email uses the term “appearance fees,” sources tell FOS that this is the same thing as a base salary for “Racers,” meaning their contract is still unpaid for the other meets.

Over $9 million in prize money remains unpaid, and then a few million dollars in Miami, Philadelphia, and L.A. appearance fees for both “Racers” and “Challengers.” The Times reported some agents have taken their concerns up to World Athletics.

A representative for GST declined to comment.

Delayed payments aren’t abnormal in the track world. One source familiar with the situation tells FOS that the Diamond League, track’s longstanding international circuit, doesn’t send out payments much faster than this, and they expect GST to make the payments.

Alexis Ohanian, founder of rival track startup Athlos, told FOS in an interview last week that athletes who participated in his event got paid in “just a few business days” following the meet.

Sources at the time of the L.A. cancellation insisted the league was postponing the meet for a number of reasons and wasn’t struggling financially. Johnson told FOS in May that he didn’t expect his $30 million brain child to break even in year one.

“After this season is over, we’ll look at things that we might change or things that we need to adjust in order to try to get to profitability,” he said. “What are things that have been positive surprises for us that we’ll double down on? And things that we learn and go, ‘Eh, that didn’t work quite as well as we thought it would,’ we will pivot.”

— Dennis Young contributed reporting.