Agree with your reasoning. I just wonder how sustainable the league structure is. They're paying out $12.6 million in prize money year 1, plus base contracts for athletes. Plus all the expenses that go into flights, staging meets. That's not cheap. Are they going to be able to make this thing profitable before the money runs out?
Good point. I think they need to narrow it down a bit. This should be a vehicle to promote 100-1500m runners primarily based in the US or Europe. That leaves you a lot of stars, many who don’t run on the DL more than 1-2x during the regular season because they don’t like the travel or the idea of balls-to-the-wall middle distance runs every time out. I don’t need to see the MLS of distance running action with all sit-and-kick races. I need McLaughlin, Coleman, Holloway, Kerr, Nuguse, Arop, Sha’Carri and so on. I don’t ever want those athletes competing at college meets/Bronze-Silver level meets ever again.
My first reaction is that I like the idea of track grand slams but wonder how it will work with the rest of the athletics calendar. Next year, you've got World Indoors, four MJ meets (where each athlete will be racing two events), plus 15 Diamond Leagues, USAs, Worlds. That's a lot of track but my worry is about the talent pool being spread too thin.
For the MJ thing to really succeed, it needs to get the best athletes (which would rip apart the Diamond League in the process). They've just invented four meets (only one of which has a location) and called them grand slams. The grand slams in golf/tennis have been around forever and each has their own character. MJ's league can't rely on history so it needs to have big-time matchups.
Great job by MJ/Kyle getting Sydney. They promised a star and she is definitely a star. I'd be fascinated to know how much they paid her. She's run four Diamond League races in her entire life and now they've signed her to run four Grand Slam meets in one year -- and she is going to be expected to double at all four meets. Let's see if that actually happens.
Yeah it's an interesting concept right - it's not a rival league per se (like the whole PGA Tour v LIV stupid debacle), just an exclusive series of 4 meets with a lot of funding.
What makes it interesting is how well these meetings will be accepted - not by the athletes, but by spectators, which ultimately is what interests television (I'm including streaming platforms into that), which is what ultimately what interests sponsors and makes sure you can keep funding your series beyond it being a 1-2 season flash in the pan.
I have no doubt he can get big-time matchups, because the sport is so devoid of $$$ compared to other global pro sports and the athletes will go where the money is. But the worst thing that can happen is that he gets the fields and then they are running in front of 4500 people at Randalls Island or Drake Stadium plus wherever else he gets to host events. Maybe the $$$ would be enough incentive to overcome that - but back to the sponsors of this, I am sure they want some ROI right?
It's so tough because a part of me feels like breaking some key meets off from the DL and establishing a new "Golden Four" (for old track heads) sort of situation would have been the best route. We all know that Zurich, Brussels, Monaco, Oslo are essentially the "Grand Slams" of global track (that aren't the Olympics/WC's) but the problems with that are easy to identify.
Because he needs to have his two meets in the US and these European meets have their own organization/mouths to feed and have deep ties with WA and Coe, so I don't even know how that would work. Maybe he could get Berlin which of course broke away from the DL because of financial issues and is a major European venue but again, not sure if that team there would give their meet up to Michael Johnson.
This is all fascinating man - I can't wait to see how this comes together.
Barega ran 13:00/7:30 or faster 5 times outside of World's last year. Kejelcha races a similar amount. If you're them, why wouldn't you sign on to an opportunity to win, potentially, $400,000 plus whatever the base compensation is to race in the grand slam league compared to winning $10,000 a race plus $30,000 in the final if they win the diamond league?
Not sure how everything works out with contract incentives, but if I'm Barega, Kejelcha, etc. I'd give the league serious thought.
These guys get paid appearance fees and have lucrative road races too. They also often need to run fast times to get on teams. To me, 8x races plus having to blast a 5K time for selection, sponsorship requirements, lucrative road races etc. I don’t know if you get these guys we’ll see. And if you do I think they will be going at 80%.
Over three days, and with no filler events from the field alongside the track races, this looks like a very thin programme. Packaging three sessions of entertaining racing that keeps spectators interested will be a challenge.
Fortunately, Flotrack has been granted exclusive streaming rights to Grand Slam Track! Now we get to watch this amazing track league on everybody's favorite streaming platform!
Yeah those are definite considerations. What I'll say is that Johnson and Merber will know very well how appearance fees, championship selection, and sponsorship requirements factor into racing decisions, so they must be confident that this will still be an appropriately appealing concept despite all that. We'll see if they're right.
Part of it also just comes down to what you prefer as a fan. Personally, I don't mind the idea of these being 7:50/13:30 races because I think the tactics would be interesting, and I think the strain of doubling would make the races more strategic. That said, I get why some would prefer a Diamond League structure that sees more 12:40/50 races, and this is definitely a challenge to that structure.
I hope the league works but could definitely see it failing. Even if it does fail, I think it poses a healthy challenge to the Diamond League. If the Diamond League wants to retain the top athletes, it may need to reinvent itself. Either way, I'm hoping the end result will be a regular season that's more entertaining to fans and profitable to athletes.
To be honest, even as a distance fan, I'd rather have them choose the 3k OR 5k, not both. Or alternate as I said. It's too similar a distance from a viewing standpoint IMO.
I don’t think she is a joke. When she races it’s amazing, however she is the specialist of dropping out and basically not caring about fans ( which is fair enough, she is allowed to care about her career more than the sport itself). But building a league around someone that doesn’t like to race seems quite odd.
I would guess most of her money right now is tied to her marketability/sponsors, which would be much lower if she flopped at major championships due to injury/burnout/overracing/whatever.
If GST can really deliver what they’re saying, it allows you to take more “risks” with racing more often. Obviously I’m sure Sydney and other athletes will still want to be at their best at major championships, but showing up to 4 GSTs a year would seem to give them way more financial stability than just banking on a gold medal landing them better sponsorship deals
To be honest, even as a distance fan, I'd rather have them choose the 3k OR 5k, not both. Or alternate as I said. It's too similar a distance from a viewing standpoint IMO.
3k and 5k definitely sound redundant, but it sounds like the vision of the league is to get athletes out of their comfort zones to show off more of their full talents. They used Holloway running the 110h/100m double as an example. So it sounds like they might end up with a distance guy doing the 800/3k double or the 1500/5k double. So instead of having the same guys line up in the 3k and 5k, which again would be redundant, there would be more variety seeing people race different distances.
To be honest, even as a distance fan, I'd rather have them choose the 3k OR 5k, not both. Or alternate as I said. It's too similar a distance from a viewing standpoint IMO.
3k and 5k definitely sound redundant, but it sounds like the vision of the league is to get athletes out of their comfort zones to show off more of their full talents. They used Holloway running the 110h/100m double as an example. So it sounds like they might end up with a distance guy doing the 800/3k double or the 1500/5k double. So instead of having the same guys line up in the 3k and 5k, which again would be redundant, there would be more variety seeing people race different distances.
It sounds from the press conference that they will be segregated in their "even groups", so wouldn't this incentivize the 8/15 guys? So no Jakob I guess? I honestly feel like MJ should simplify this thing even further.
To be honest, even as a distance fan, I'd rather have them choose the 3k OR 5k, not both. Or alternate as I said. It's too similar a distance from a viewing standpoint IMO.
Agree. I could maybe see it working if they allow distance guys to single up. They could maybe get some of the top 5 guys.
Is this suggesting they’re going to make distance runners do a 3K/5K weekend double 4x a year? Good luck with that. To be honest, they should probably leave above the 1500 to the Diamond League in my estimation.
I actually hope that instead of distance runners trying a 3k/5k double, they try a 3k/800 double, or 400/5k double or something. There's no chance they'd win over the sprinters, but 8th place pays the same as a DL win, and it would be a lot of fun to see 2 of the best distance runners go head-to-head in an open 400. Plus you get an extra storyline to follow within the race. If Kerr and Wightman raced a 3k and then a 400 the next day, I'd be focused on their race even if they were 7th and 8th. There's also cross-pollination between sprinting audiences and distance audiences, since some people may only watch sprints and don't know who Josh Kerr is.
It'd also be cool to see sprinters step up. You could see 400mh people trying the 100 or 800, 800 runners trying the 100, etc etc etc. It'd be so fun to see how someone like Noah Lyles would fare at 800 against a 10k guy or something. It also opens the door for special events. Something like the main event (100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, etc) Saturday, then have all those athletes come back Sunday for a special event like an elimination mile, or having sprinters and distance runners meet at 600, or 800 runners and milers meet at 1k, steeplers run 400mh, an 800mh or 1500mh race, etc. I kinda doubt they'll go that route, but the door is open for it, and it would be a lot of fun for fans.
Is this suggesting they’re going to make distance runners do a 3K/5K weekend double 4x a year? Good luck with that. To be honest, they should probably leave above the 1500 to the Diamond League in my estimation.
I actually hope that instead of distance runners trying a 3k/5k double, they try a 3k/800 double, or 400/5k double or something. There's no chance they'd win over the sprinters, but 8th place pays the same as a DL win, and it would be a lot of fun to see 2 of the best distance runners go head-to-head in an open 400. Plus you get an extra storyline to follow within the race. If Kerr and Wightman raced a 3k and then a 400 the next day, I'd be focused on their race even if they were 7th and 8th. There's also cross-pollination between sprinting audiences and distance audiences, since some people may only watch sprints and don't know who Josh Kerr is.
It'd also be cool to see sprinters step up. You could see 400mh people trying the 100 or 800, 800 runners trying the 100, etc etc etc. It'd be so fun to see how someone like Noah Lyles would fare at 800 against a 10k guy or something. It also opens the door for special events. Something like the main event (100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, etc) Saturday, then have all those athletes come back Sunday for a special event like an elimination mile, or having sprinters and distance runners meet at 600, or 800 runners and milers meet at 1k, steeplers run 400mh, an 800mh or 1500mh race, etc. I kinda doubt they'll go that route, but the door is open for it, and it would be a lot of fun for fans.
No, sorry, this would be a sideshow. I just want 4 slams (like MJ is presenting), where ALL the best runners compete in their best event against each other (maybe with some doubles for the real studs who can manage it).
It sounds like the real gamble here is - Is there enough money being offered to convince athletes to potentially risk their late season championship performances?
The biggest barrier for athletes having consistent racing schedules are "exciting" the fans has always been that the #1 goal for any individual is to make their World or Olympic team. Thats the dream that all these athletes grew up with. Can this league of consistent "pure" racing, which should be exciting for fans, overpower that desire from athletes.
On the surface it sounds like it can. $10,000 for 8th place is awesome. And having 8 opportunities to win a $100k prize for a single race has to be incredibly attractive to many runners around the world right now, even if it risks their optimized racing and training schedule.
I'm not sure why track just doesn't copy tennis. MJ's thing is close, but why is it so complicated with these "event groups"? I don't care who the best 8/15 guy is, I care about who the best 15 OR 8 guy is
It sounds like the real gamble here is - Is there enough money being offered to convince athletes to potentially risk their late season championship performances?
The biggest barrier for athletes having consistent racing schedules are "exciting" the fans has always been that the #1 goal for any individual is to make their World or Olympic team. Thats the dream that all these athletes grew up with. Can this league of consistent "pure" racing, which should be exciting for fans, overpower that desire from athletes.
On the surface it sounds like it can. $10,000 for 8th place is awesome. And having 8 opportunities to win a $100k prize for a single race has to be incredibly attractive to many runners around the world right now, even if it risks their optimized racing and training schedule.
I would rather see this than world champs TBH. Keep Olympic years for the glory and nostalgia factor (like tennis), but leave this league to run every other year.
The league has signed up Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who has only run 4 Diamond Leagues in her life, to commit to doubling at 4 meets a year. What's disappointing is the event groups are totally siloed off and the hurdlers are...
Call me not a fan of it. I do not like how the event groups are siloed off. Let's kill of the Diamond League so SML never has to race Athing Mu or Paulino in a flat 400. I have little interest in seeing Grant Holloway race a flat 100mh every weekend against only other hurdlers. Or to potentially never see Josh Kerr race Jakob Ingebrigtsen as they are in different even groups. Let's hope at a minimum that Jakob could run in the 800/1500 one meet and then 3000/5000 at another meet.
I want all of the best 400 runners in the 400. I dont' want to watch 2 400s, one with the hurdlers and one with the 200 stars. I mean think about Michael Johnson. He was a 200m guy. But he'd be in the 200/400 group in this and never race the top 100 guys in the 200.
Michael Johnson's big rivals in the 1996 Olympics in the 200 were Frank Fredericksa nd Ato Boldon. Under this format, he's NEVER race them. If Tebogo ends up being a 200/400 guy, he'll never race Lyles in the 200 at these meets..
There is a press event in LA today where the Michael Johnson league will be unveiled and a major athlete announced.
The press invitation says “Following the official unveiling of the league, Anderson will host and moderate a panel discussion with Johnson, who will be joined by the league's first signed racer, one of the biggest track stars in the world.“
We discussed this in podcast.
Robert and I said it needs to be Sha’carri, Noah or Sydney if they want to move the needle.
Fred Kerley was mentioned as someone who might need the money the most.
Rai Benjamin and Athing Mu are also in LA.
It’ll be interesting to see what they unveil. As track currently is an independent series of events and not a League, with some apologies to the Diamond League.
This is interesting. I'm excited. Here are a few thoughts:
1. I don't agree with the event groups: Imo, they should be 100/200 for short sprints, 400/800 for long sprints, and 1500/3000 for long distance. Feels strange having the 200 being categorized as a short sprint and a long sprint, especially when the 800 is literally right there. The guys at the top level are going through 400m in 49-51L. Seems like a sprint to me.
2. No field events seems like a serious missed opportunity, and I don't even watch or follow that many field events at the pro level. Have it as a thing before or after the meet. Even if it's outside the TV window, it will still be great entertainment in front of a fantastic crowd. Plus, field events have had some of the best personalities as of recent. The Tara Davis vs Quanera Hayes beef last year is quite literally the only track rivalry I can remember actually delivering, which ended up being a WL-distance LJ and fantastic matchup. Tons of rising stars like Jaydon Hibbert, Mattia Furlani, Myklos Alkena, and rivalries like Crouser vs Kovacs.
3. How is this gonna run any profit? Merchandise? Betting? Sponsorships? A combination of all of that? With the announcements it's had so far it seems like it's gonna be hemorrhaging cash pretty quickly.
4. This article feels like they really want to tell Diamond League to go f*ck themselves, but they can't really say that professionally. I get the feeling that the people involved in this project are sick of USATF, world athletics, and diamond league. It really feels like this part of this project is to try and run diamond league into the ground. Hopefully it forces them to evolve and figure their crap out - cut some of the meets and events and focus on the better ones.
5. Lastly, i'm excited to see real change being brought to this sport. I've been saying for a while that theres a ton of potential in this sport if someone is willing to go out there and take some risks. Looks like we finally have someone in this sport who is brave enough to try and take it.
Whether or not this works out, I applaud Michael Johnson for putting this together and always will.
