Track and Field is witnessing a golden era with USA track athletes like Sha’Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles, and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone making headlines worldwide. Yet, behind the victories and record-breaking performances, there is an uneasy financial dynamic for USA Track & Field (USATF). While athletes make millions from international events like The Diamond League, Athlos, and the GST (Grand Slam Track), USATF is under mounting pressure, as its most recent tax returns disclosed a $5 million net deficit and dropping revenues.

As the sport’s international landscape becomes more lucrative, with over $22 million allocated in prize money for 2025, USATF’s inability to keep up with this change may challenge its capacity to keep its best athletes. Instead, American track and field stars could be left without a governing body to support them, which would be a blow to the future of track and field in America. Now, the question arises: will this wealth discrepancy affect the future of track and field in the USA?

USATF doesn’t seem to be doing well financially

USATF is not doing well in terms of finances, despite having sponsors like Nike on board, there is something that is not aligned. As per the reports, the USATF tax return for 2023 is in loss of $5 million. ProPublica posted the Form 990 Federal tax return for 2023. How does the calculation work? The revenue declined to $35.01 million, from $37.94 million, and this year its $5.60 million, after a loss of $6.72 million in 2022. With this, the USATF reserves decreased from $597,933 in 2022 to -$4.491 million in 2023.

This revenue total is as of December 31, 2023, which means USATF has gone almost an entire year since these numbers were current. But no calculation is there for 2024. The tax return proves that USATF is in a financial crisis but not out of money. What does that mean? The return showed that they have $1.07 million in cash, $10.62 million in investments, and $7.26 million in deferred revenue, likely advanced sponsor payments. (It is to be noted that these tax-report figures are not the same as audited because it is not out yet, but it is most likely the same).

The 2023 revenue of around $35.01 million is the worst situation since 2017. The question arises as to why USATF is in crisis, even though they have had Nike as a sponsor since 1991. The $115.83 billion giant has sponsored the US for many track and field events, like the Summer Olympics, for that matter (from Barcelona in 1992 to Paris in 2024). The partnership will continue till 2040, while athletes like Noah Lyles are sponsored by Adidas (till 2028) and Eric Holt by Puma.

Athletes like Sha’Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles, and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone are reaching heights, but their efforts seem to be shaking as they won’t be getting what they deserve. Events like the Grand Slam Track (GST), Athlos, and The Diamond League serve as a boon for track and field athletes in America.

Will the track and field events improve the financial status of the athletes?

American track and field is steadily climbing the financial ladder with events like Athlos, GST, and The Diamond League scheduled for 2025. For example, GST is offering substantial prize money of around $12.6 million. A list of a total of 48 athletes is out, including names like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in Michael Johnson’s dream event, and the prize money will vary from $100k for the winner to $10k for the 8th winner. Athlos, on the other hand, is also going to give a good amount of prize money.

A female-only track and field event called Athlos was concluded at Icahn Stadium in New York City on September 26, 2024. Prize money? Athlos gave a total amount of $500k as a prize pool. The amount varies from $60k for the winner to $2.5 for the sixth position. What about silver and bronze? For the athlete to score a second position on the podium, will take home $25k and $10k for the third position. Wondering about The Diamond League?

The Diamond League is one of the elite one-day meeting series and comprises 15 of the most prestigious events in the global track and field. The two-day Wanda Diamond League Final will be held in Zurich on August 27th and 28, 2025. This league is going to provide a total sum of $9.24 million as a prize pool. In diamond discipline, an athlete can win $10k for a series meeting and $30k at The Diamond League final as first prize money. However, for Diamond and disciplines together, prize money for the series meeting will vary from $20k for first place in the series meeting to $50k in finals. Such events offer track and field athletes a generous amount of prize money, signaling a concerning direction for USATF. Let’s hope the revenue will go positive soon.