Grand Slam Track Faces Scrutiny as $13 Million in Payments Remain Outstanding

Athletes still unpaid as Michael Johnson’s league cancels final meet and shifts payment deadlines

Grand Slam Track Faces Scrutiny as $13 Million in Payments Remain Outstanding 1

When Michael Johnson launched Grand Slam Track this spring, the promise was bold: a $12.6 million prize pool, head-to-head races between the world’s best, and a shake-up of the sport’s outdated model.

Just three meets later, with the fourth even being cancelled, that vision is unraveling, and athletes are still waiting to be paid.

More than $13 million in prize money and appearance fees remains outstanding, according to multiple sources close to the situation. Although Johnson and GST executives have told athletes they’ll be paid by the end of September, many are running out of patience and trust.

The league, which opened in April with a meet in Kingston, Jamaica, then moved to Miami and Philadelphia, was supposed to culminate in Los Angeles in late June.

That final event was abruptly canceled, with Johnson citing the need to “ensure long-term stability” amid a “dramatically shifted” economic landscape. But that explanation didn’t quiet concerns, particularly from those who hadn’t yet received their base salaries or race winnings.

Grand Slam Track Faces Scrutiny as $13 Million in Payments Remain Outstanding 2

Only appearance fees from the first meet in Kingston have reportedly been paid, and only to agents who submitted paperwork on time.

Athletes and their representatives say they’ve received little communication about the rest of their money. Some have escalated the issue to World Athletics, and the Association of Athletics Managers (AAM) even organized a Zoom call with Johnson in June to seek clarity.

An email sent July 1 by GST’s senior director of racing, Kyle Merber, outlined a new payment timeline: Kingston prize money would be paid “before the end of July,” with all other payments, including Los Angeles appearance fees, expected by the end of September.

For many athletes, that’s not good enough.

Part of the holdup, GST officials have said, stems from the need to process drug testing results before releasing prize money, a standard protocol in elite track and field. But agents note that the Diamond League typically completes testing within a few weeks. For GST, it’s been three months.

GST entered its debut season with $30 million in funding, much of it from Winners Alliance, the commercial arm of the Professional Tennis Players Association.

Since then, the league has added investors, including Sundial Brands founder Richelieu Dennis, and is actively looking for more capital to fund a 2026 return.

Grand Slam Track Faces Scrutiny as $13 Million in Payments Remain Outstanding 3

But while organizers have insisted the LA cancellation wasn’t due to financial collapse, the lack of timely payments tells a murkier story.

Johnson has remained optimistic in public comments, saying the league was never expected to break even in year one. “After this season is over, we’ll look at things that we might change,” he told Front Office Sports in May. “And things that we learn and go, ‘Eh, that didn’t work quite as well as we thought it would,’ we will pivot.”

But pivoting may be harder now. The track world is watching closely, not just for whether athletes get paid, but for whether Johnson’s promise of a new era in professional track can survive its rocky debut.

For now, some of the sport’s biggest names, including Olympic gold medalists Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Gabby Thomas, are left waiting.

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Jessy Carveth

Senior News Editor

Jessy has been active her whole life, competing in cross-country, track running, and soccer throughout her undergrad. She pivoted to road cycling after completing her Bachelor of Kinesiology with Nutrition from Acadia University. Jessy is currently a professional road cyclist living and training in Spain.

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