Revealed: How Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track Lied to Athletes About Non-Existent Funding

American sprint great Michael Johnson is currently facing a backlash from athletes and track and field enthusiasts over the non-payment of prize money for his Grand Slam Track event.

Johnson, the face, CEO and Commissioner of Grand Slam Track, had promised to revolutionize the sport when the new track league was announced last year, promising bumbler prize money to athletes.

With winners in each category promised $100,000 per leg, an appearance fee, reported to be $2,000 per meet, with the rewards going up to the eighth-place finisher, who would get $10,000, every participant was guaranteed at least $12,000 per Grand Slam Track event.

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However, after the less than impressive opening two legs in Kingston, Jamaica and Miami and a fairly well-attended Philadelphia meet, Grand Slam Track cancelled the final leg in Los Angeles in June and it later emerged that it was down to funding gaps.

However, Johnson and his organization maintained that athletes’ dues would be settled but now heading into September, the participants are yet to receive their prize money, leading to panic and threats of legal action.

Agents fear that their clients will never be paid with Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Kenny Bednarek owed the most money, each demanding $300,000, while Olympics champions Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Gabby Thomas are demanding $250,000 and $180,000 respectively.

However, according to The Athletic, Johnson and his league knew that they did not have all the money that they had promised even before the season-opening leg in Kingston in April 2025 after only receiving assurances and not commitments from one of their lead investors.

As per the outlet, Grand Slam Track’s claim in a press release in June 2024 that it had secured over $30 million in financial commitments was false as they had only received $13 million with lead investor Winners Alliance having an option, but not an obligation, to advance them a further $19 million.

By the time the league was gunning off in Jamaica in April this year, they did not have the over $30 million claimed to be in their possession.

Grand Slam Track reportedly had a signed term sheet with Eldridge which, if completed, would have seen the fund close a deal “on or around April 1” to invest a further $30 million in initial funding and an additional $10 million later in 2025.

But The Athletic reports that this did not complete on time and, after Eldridge officials attended the Kingston meet, which was a major flop, they told Grand Slam Track that they would not be investing in the league.

Athletes, however, continued competing, oblivious of the financial challenges the organization was facing, until mid-June when Johnson informed their agents that the investors had backed out due to US President Donald Trump’s ‘tariff announcements and instability to the world economy’ despite initially claiming that the payment delay was due to drug-testing protocols.

Sources close to Grand Slam Track, however, insisted to The Athletic that the claim on Trump’s polices was not the reason for the investor pull-out but rather the business model that Johnson and his team presented, which did not guarantee a return on investment.

Grand Slam Track is now left with debts and threats of legal action hanging over their heads while Johnson’s reputation is in tatters with athletes fearing that they might have been played.