The 2025 track and field season is already looking promising, and why is that? Because it will be offering a variety of events. While the Tokyo World Championships will be the most hyped one, the season will also see a new event such as the Grand Slam Track and something as old as an annual Diamond League campaign. DL will be turning 15 years old next year, and many athletes, including Sha’Carri Richardson, will be depending upon it. Why so?

The Team USA sprinter chose not to sign a contract with Michael Johnson’s GST, which could have earned her an easy $400,000 if she had won the short sprint event group (100m and the 200m). However, the Diamond League had listened to enough criticism from the community and finally has come up with huge changes in their prize pool that might tackle the other events, especially the Grand Slam Track.

Competition already heating up before any action on the track

A few months into the 2024 season, Michael Johnson unveiled his big goal of bringing life to Grand Slam Track. The track meet is set to be held annually, having four slams throughout a single campaign. Indeed, it was a bold move from the track legend, who always wanted to reform the sport and attract newer fans to it. So was he successful? Absolutely! GST was able to attract a ton of athletes towards it, especially staying true to its tagline, “only the fastest.” The final slam of the event will also collide with the New York City Grand Prix, but Johnson isn’t rescheduling his event for another, as he wants competition.

However, despite all the attention and a magnificent prize pool, big names like Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson showed little or no interest in GST. Indeed, it was surprising for the community, but were they waiting for any other event? Recently, the Diamond League announced its prize pool for the 2025 season, and it’s looking competitive enough to attract many top-tier names in the sport.

According to their official website, 2025 will see a full reform of the league and the biggest prize pool that it has ever seen since its implementation back in 2010. Especially, there will be two distinct categories, Diamond Disciplines and Diamond+ Disciplines. So what’s the difference? Athletes competing in Diamond+ will be receiving a massive boost in money compared to those in the normal ones. The participants that would be part of this distinct category will be announced later on in the season.

Furthermore, apart from the whopping total of $9.24 million in prize money, top-tier athletes will be receiving around $18 million in promotional fees. The track meet will also cover services such as travel and transport, accommodation, and medical and physio provision with an investment of around $6 million. Coming back to the prize money, in the Diamond Discipline, the athlete in first place will receive $10,000 in the series meeting and $30,000 in the finals. However, the athletes in the Diamond+ Discipline will earn $20,000 in series meetings and a whopping $50,000 in the finals.

Indeed, these are huge changes from an event like the Diamond League that underwent a ton of criticism after getting compared to the upcoming Grand Slam Track. The track and field scene is already heating up with all these pieces of information provided by the officials. However, only time will tell how many of them actually succeed in their statements. From the very start of the anticipation, Richardson didn’t show much interest in GST; however, unlike her, a certain athlete was pretty keen to join in but avoided the deal at the final moment.

Joining Sha’Carri Richardson and avoiding Grand Slam Track

When an athlete such as Sha’Carri Richardson showed less interest in Grand Slam Track, it sparked a significant debate within the community. However, when Noah Lyles followed a similar path to his fellow Team USA sprinter, everyone was left in shock. And why wouldn’t they be? Denying a GST contract is basically saying no to free $400,000, and in a sport like track, which already has enough financial problems, any big prize pool is worth competing in. Why did Lyles express a lack of interest?

Despite all the anticipation that GST has garnered over the course of not even a single year, it hasn’t had a primary broadcasting partner, especially for TV. Lyles’ disinterest in Johnson’s track meet stemmed from this situation. Furthermore, the athlete also revealed that his schedule is also very different for the 2025 season, so it would be his first priority to focus on that. Indeed, Lyles is a defending world champion in both the 100m and the 200m, and he must prepare for these two events due to the intense competition he faces this year, as evidenced by the Paris Olympics.