Grand Slam Track Raises $30mm to Solve Sport’s ‘Supply Problem’

Grand Slam Track Raises $30mm to Solve Sport’s ‘Supply Problem’

Grand Slam Track (GST), a new global track league founded by four-time Olympic gold medalist and CEO Michael Johnson and President Steve Gera, was formally unveiled in June. 

The duo intends to establish a sustainable professional property for a sport that is amongst the most popular during the summer Olympic Games, and features some of its biggest personalities (see: Noah Lyles, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone), but lacks the infrastructure and events necessary to keep fans and stakeholders engaged in between. 

“Based on our research, track does not have a demand problem,” Gera said. “It has a supply problem.”

GST plans to hold four three-day events annually. Each ‘tentpole’ will be held in global cities, including at least two here in the U.S. The league is scheduled to debut in April 2025.

Johnson and Gera secured $30mm in financial commitments. The money is expected to get the league through its first few years (and to the next round).

Winners Alliance led this round. Its investment thesis was simple.

“Track is a global sport. It’s the world’s oldest sport. And there really ought to be more structure and something for its fans and the athletes, other than just the Olympics every four years,” Ahmad Nassar (CEO, Winners Alliance) said. While "we think [the GST investment] will serve us as commercial partners over the long run, and the fans and governing bodies because it'll elevate the sport, from an athlete standpoint, there's not enough track content to showcase how incredible they are [which limits their earning power].”

Remember, Winners Alliance is focused on athlete empowerment and constructing athlete-centric business models.

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There was a time when track and field stars were amongst the most famous athletes in America (think: Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee). While that is no longer the case, GST insists that fandom for the sport remains; and not just domestically, but worldwide.

“155 million people [will] tune in for two or more track meets a year,” Gera said. “500 million will tune in for at least one.” 

“We just saw Netflix put out Sprint. [That is] good independent validation people care,” Nassar added.

But track, and by proxy its athletes, have lost relevance stateside over the last half century.

"A big piece of that is because [the sport has] been caught between being professional and amateur," Gera said. “Commercially, and from a governance standpoint, it is run by government federations or independent meet operators.”

And each of the former’s respective constituencies are wide and deep. So, the relatively little money that exists within the sport is spread thin. It’s never been directed towards a single platform.

There’s also been a dearth of organized events capable of attracting casual viewers (and as a result, non-endemic partners) between Olympiads, and properties structured in a way that would attract smart money (they’ve largely been one-offs after the Olympics).

Johnson and Gera set out to change all of that with GST. They called Nassar looking for a referral on a potential capital partner. He had successfully raised money for Winners Alliance and OneTeam Partners prior to that.

The pair felt timing was right to go to market.

“You have all these other sports getting professionalized, all [of this] capital is [flowing downstream into emerging] sports, and now, finally, [there is] the right person —Michael Johnson— to marshal resources and put a new league [together],” Gera said.

Johnson is leading from the front. His deep domain expertise was useful in designing an event format that GST believes will appeal to hardcore and casual fans alike. 

“Right now, the way that track is presented, it's one event then a long break [before the next],” Gera explained.

GST is planning to hold a lot of races in rapid succession.

And each will be a final. There are no ‘heats’. So, everything will be on the line every time the runners line up.

“In order to [ensure] that [hardcore fans] get to see their favorite racers enough [each will be required to run two races per event],” Gera said. 

How they place in both, across the four events, will determine where they finish in the group, who wins the Slam (for the group), and ultimately the prize money they are awarded.

GST’s runners will be broken down into natural ‘groups’ (think: short/long sprinters, short/long hurdlers, short/long distance). There will even be a one where celebrities and athletes can show off their speed–which isn’t anywhere close to track fast but should be compelling none-the-less.

One could argue with a growing number of sports properties in the marketplace and increasing competition for consumer attention and share of the fan’s wallet, that there’s no need for a new track league.

But Nassar views it differently.

Limiting the Slam to four events annually will ensure GST maintains the novelty factor it has during the Olympics (remember, less is more). 

“There’s a ton of [human] drama [in the sport] that feeds into a 10-second, 20-second, minute-long [race],” he said, which is perfect for the next-gen fan and international fans that consume sports content primarily on mobile devices. 

And no one has ever invested the resources in properly telling the athletes’ stories.

If GST can, Nassar is convinced sports fans will tune in en masse. He cited pro wrestling as evidence.

"We're not a fund. We don't invest in startups,” he said. “But we felt so strongly about this [opportunity that] we took it to our board and it was one of the easiest things we've ever proposed.”

That was the case even though it is going to take GST time to generate meaningful revenues (see: MLS, WNBA).

He pointed to other global sports, with far less history, that have managed to build successful professional properties (think: cricket, tennis, basketball). 

Of course, swimming and gymnastics are also popular Olympic sports and neither has a meaningful pro league; despite various attempts to create one. 

But Nassar believes track appeals to fans globally in a way that is fundamentally different than those sports.

“Look at the list of [track] medal winners from Paris. You will find all sorts of variety, which brings an added layer [of interest to the sport],” he said. “Whereas it’s not at all uncommon to [see] people completely and utterly dominate gymnastics and swimming” (see: Simone Biles or Katie Ledecky).

Several of track’s biggest stars have already signed on with GST. The startup league plans to sign the remainder of its 48-person roster over the next few months.

It will also work on finalizing deals with venues, television broadcasters, and key licensing and sponsorship partners before the end of the year.

In the short-term, the league will try to make “money the same exact way that all sports [properties] with strong structural sports IP platforms do, media, event day, merch etc.,” Gera said.

Just not necessarily with the same techniques or partners. 

Track’s global appeal and the short-form nature of its races may enable GST to be more innovative with its rights than an established domestic league would be.

The hope is that the league will eventually be able to leverage its IP to drive new revenue generating opportunities and venture scale returns.

For example, “here in the U.S., there is a real lack of professional track stadia,” Gera said, suggesting the league could eventually get into the venue construction business.

Questions remain about whether a track stadium outside of Eugene, OR could be booked on enough nights annually to make building it worthwhile. 

GST will need to prove it has staying power for us all to find out.

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