The Wanda Diamond League announced on Wednesday that it will increase prize money for athletes for the 2025 season to the largest in the series’ history.
Organizers made the decision following Sunday’s Diamond League General Assembly, and agreed to boost the prize payout to $9,240,000 during the 15 events to be held next year.
“The Wanda Diamond League remains committed to rewarding the athletes more, whilst at the same time ensuring the long term sustainability of the series, so it continues to provide vital competition to the athletes for many more years to come,” Petr Stastny, the CEO of Diamond League said in a statement.
The series will enter its 16th season in 2025 and the news of the increased prize money comes after track and field legend Michael Johnson announced that his Grand Slam Track league will pay $100,000 to the winners of events in each of the four “slams.”
Eighth place finishers will get $10,000 and Johnson’s league will kick off next year.
The signing of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone to Grand Slam Track signaled Johnson’s commitment to bringing top talent to the promotion. The league will distribute $12.6 million in total prize money during the series.
Meanwhile, World Athletics ended its long-standing 128-year policy of not paying Olympic medalists during the Paris Games and each gold medal winner in track and field received $50,000.
For Diamond League officials, the increase in prize money will be viewed as a countermeasure to rivals raising the financial stakes in the sport. The league will pay between $30-$50,000 per event during the first 14 meets and $60-100,000 at the final.
This is a noticeable increase for the league, which paid $10,000 for winners and $30,000 in the final in 2024.
“In an ever-changing landscape in the sports, media and entertainment world, we have always been on the forefront of innovation in our sport of athletics,” Stastny said. “Featuring a total of 32 disciplines over each season, we provide the world’s best athletes the opportunity to compete at the highest possible level. Having competitors from around 100 countries every year allows for TV audiences in 150 countries and territories, making our series a truly universal and global league,” he added.
The 2024 Diamond League season wrapped up in Brussels last week with a two day final.
