Track events are undergoing somewhat of a revolution right now. With the introduction of competitions like Alexis Ohanian’s Athlos and Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam track, there are bound to be more high-level contests waiting for spectators. These events might also bring more money into the sport for track athletes, which have been lacking in competitions like the Diamond League.

For example, Grand Slam Track’s prize money of $100,000 for the winner of each slam is much higher than DL’s $50,000. Thus, this is an enormous step in giving track athletes what they’re worth. However, these tournaments have all ignored the field events, denying the same enjoyment to those athletes. This has added to field athletes’ already existing problem of earning less than their track counterparts. The problem has existed for many years now. Recently, a track and field legend touched upon this topic.

Track and field legends talk about disparities between track and field athletes

In the Ready Set Go podcast hosted by Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green, the Olympic gold medalist talked about equality between track categories and field categories. Justin highlighted the pay difference between both of them and how track events like 100 meters and 200 meters get more prize money than events like shot put and high jumping.

“And I think that’s going to throw us backwards because now you have all these field events who have been working hard to be considered equal. And if their purse doesn’t equal a high-caliber, 100-meter race, then there’s no equality,” he said. However, he also felt that popularity and viewership must come into this equation as track events bring more eyes to the sport.

“I always felt like in this aspect, that’s where tracks should be divided. And I hate saying such a strong word as divided, but to get the attention that you need, you need to be in the spotlight in our sport. And the spotlight usually is 100 meters or 200 meters of hurdles or sprints or whatever, right?” Gatlin also felt that field athletes have to be more dynamic in their sport, making them interesting enough for a viewer to tune in and bring more money.

The appropriate example for this could be Mondo Duplantis, who makes people tune in to watch him create new records in the sport because of his greatness. This is what field sports need the most. New fans tuning in to watch them, which brings more pay to their sport. That being said, while field events earn less than track, the latter doesn’t earn much either.

The finances of track athletes are much less compared to other sports

Track athletes don’t get paid nearly as much as players from top leagues like NBA, NFL, and MLB. For context, the richest track and field athlete in the world is still Usain Bolt despite his retirement in 2017. The 100m world record holder’s net worth is $30 million. On the other hand, NBA legend LeBron James’ net worth currently lies around $1.2 billion, while NFL’s Patrick Mahomes’s net worth is around $90 million dollars.

New York Yankees’ right fielder Aaron Judge earns around 50 million dollars. Thus, all three athletes defeat Usain Bolt’s figure by quite a mile. This becomes even more concerning when one looks at the net worth of current track athletes. Noah Lyles, who many consider the face of the sport among the current crop, has a net worth of 7 million dollars.

Compared to athletes from other leagues, this figure is quite low for someone of his caliber. Thus, the problem of money exists in all track and field events. The only solution to this seems to be to garner higher viewership which would invite more sponsors to invest in events. Only then would athletes get paid for what they’re worth. Nevertheless, it seems that we are moving in the right direction with the introduction of cash-rich leagues like the Grand Slam track and Athlos. It remains to be seen whether these events have any long-lasting impact on the sport.