A lifeline appears to be partially the way for Grand Slam Track as the league received a block of financing from existing investors and has paid its athletes half of what they were owed in prize money, according to a report in Front Office Sports on Friday.
The league canceled its last event in June after hosting three meets and it was later learned that an investor who backed out left the Michael Johnson-led venture without enough funds to pay athletes and vendors. New of the cancelation set off a chain of events that included widespread rumors that the Michael Johnson-led venture was in serious financial trouble.
With this new round of funding, some of the league’s debts have been settled, as around $11 million was owed to athletes and $8 million to vendors. Based on the report, athletes have been sent half of what they have been owed from appearance fees and what they earned through the competition.
The league laid off some of its staff last month but the latest financing will also around 10 employees to stay with the venture as a restructuring process begins.
But with some of the burden of the debts relieved, the report also indicates that existing investors like Winners Alliance wanted to save Grand Slam Track and do whatever was necessary to secure additional funding. By late September the plan to secure — and distribute — the new funds was in place with the initial priority being to address athletes who were still waiting to be compensated.
Grand Slam Track officials contacted athletes and their representatives on Friday explaining the process of payouts and a phase of the league that was addressed as a “reboot”
“Today is the beginning of Grand Slam Track’s reboot. We apologize for frustrations and hardships caused by the payment delays to date.” the email read. “Over the next 60 days, we will be working hard to make things right with everyone who helped make 2025 a success, to best position GST for 2026 and beyond. This is a critical step in that delicate and difficult process, but know there is a path. Our appreciation of your grace and support as we walk that path cannot be overstated.”
The next step will be to cover what is owed to vendors, like production staff for the meets to be broadcast, equipment rentals, lawyers and the usage of facilities. That is part of an $8 million bill that the league is looking to renegotiate.
Messages left with Grand Slam Track and Winners Alliance were not returned on Friday.
Grand Slam Track immediately caught the attention of the sport early last year when it announced the signing of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone as the first athlete on its roster — and promised significantly higher payouts to participants that dwarfed the prizes paid by Diamond League.
Soon, other big names like Gabby Thomas, Josh Kerr, Grant Fisher and Yared Nuguse inked deals with the league to compete as “Racers” and appear at all four meets scheduled meets.
The league was backed with a reported $30 million commitment from Winners Alliance and other investors with a guaranteed $12.6 million in prize money to the athletes.
While Johnson admitted the cash flow issues, he also said he hoped the league would survive and spoke as if a 2026 season would still be a possibility.
But shortly after the Miami-area meet in late May, the league revealed that its upcoming event in Philadelphia would be trimmed from three days to two, leading to some confusion about why changes were being made. However, the meet, at Franklin Field showed promise and was well-attended with some sections at the nearly 53,000-seat stadium covered by branded tarps.
Just weeks after, it was announced that the final meet in Los Angeles would not take place and rumors about Grand Slam Track’s financial issue became real as details of the league’s troubles emerged.
