The Real Reason Elite Athletes Are Underpaid: There Are Too Many Of Them
The Real Reason Elite Athletes Are Underpaid: There Are Too Many Of Them
Recently, athletes have come out saying that USATF needs to pay the athletes more.
USATF CEO Max Siegel gave a rundown on Thursday of the compensation USATF paid directly to the athletes in 2016.
1) $2.6 million via prize money at USATF events
2) $1.8 million via the "elite athlete distribution plan" for those who made the Olympic team
3) $1.9 million via the "USATF tier program" based on World/U.S. rank
4) $0.6 million via travel payments
5) $4.4 million via non-USATF properties (International prize money, USOC, USATF Foundation grants)
6) $2.6 million via training center programs, health insurance, workshops, other tier programs
In total about $14 million was paid to the athletes.
A majority of this money went to athletes who were top three in their events. Twenty-eight athletes earned over $100K, 111 athletes earned over $38K, and 179 athletes earned over $25K. These 179 athletes all are top three caliber athletes. They had stellar 2016 seasons which opened up a revenue stream into their pockets via prize money and money from USATF. A large majority of these athlete most likely also have sponsorship deals, thus $25K-$100K on top of their sponsorship salary is pretty good.
If you aren't top three in your event, you are shit out of luck. USATF's compensation to athletes is designed to reward the best of the best. In USATF's eyes simply qualifying for the Olympic Trials or making an event final doesn't deserve large compensation. USATF's ultimate goal is about winning world medals, so its revenue distribution plan is designed to reward the potential medalists not the potential U.S. finalists.
Basically, our sport is too big to be supported fully by a governing body. USATF is not just one sport; it is a combination of running, jumping, and throwing events. In total there will be 129 different USATF champions crowned in 2016. Of those 129 events, 43 are Olympic qualifiers. Forty-two are other world championship qualifiers (IAAF/IAU/WMRA), and the remaining 44 are U.S.-only championships.
When Phoebe Wright wrote on FloTrack about a lack of funding after her sixth-place Olympic Trials finish, Wright's performances at first glance seemed to put her in a very small elite few. But when you extrapolate top eight finishes to all of the USATF championship events, Wright is one of 800-plus, not even including elite injured athletes.
How many elite athletes are in our sport?
415 athletes can claim they have a top eight U.S. mark in an IAAF event in 2016
701 athletes can claim they have a top eight finish in a USATF Championship event
817 athletes can claim they have a top eight U.S. mark in an IAAF event in 2016 -or- a top eight finish in a USATF Championship event.
1,332 athletes qualified and competed at the 2016 Olympic Trials
In Summary…
800-plus athletes can arguably say they are one of the best in their event due to their top eight in the nation credentials.
1,300-plus athletes can say they were in the running to qualify for Team USA.
So how much would it cost to support these elite athletes?
Let's use an even 1,000 as the core number of elite USATF athletes based on the numbers listed above.
To send an athlete to the USATF annual meeting: $400 ($200 airfare + $200 hotel)
$400 x 1000 athletes = $400,000
To give an athlete a yearly travel budget: $3,200 ($400 x 8 trips)
$3,200 x 1000 athletes = $3.2 Million
To give an athlete a base salary: $25,000
$25,000 x 1000 athletes = $25 Million
To give current athlete prize money
$2.6 million (What USATF gave in 2016)
That's $31.2 million total, more than the approximately $20-million annual value of USATF's deal with Nike.
Obviously, all of these estimates are not exact but just serve to show the scale of cost of compensating all of the elite athletes in a sport of this size. But these are just the estimated costs of direct money to the elite athletes. USATF has many other expenses, including meet production costs, event rights, staffing, athlete programs, plus all of the youth, junior, masters, and Paralympic events that it is obligated to run/support.
Right now, USATF does a good job at supporting the top three athletes in each event. The problem comes when you try to support the top eight. The reason USATF doesn't support a larger portion of the athletes is mostly that there are too many top eight caliber athletes to support equitably. The only way non-top three athletes will start getting paid is more money in the sports or fewer events.
1) $2.6 million via prize money at USATF events
2) $1.8 million via the "elite athlete distribution plan" for those who made the Olympic team
3) $1.9 million via the "USATF tier program" based on World/U.S. rank
4) $0.6 million via travel payments
5) $4.4 million via non-USATF properties (International prize money, USOC, USATF Foundation grants)
6) $2.6 million via training center programs, health insurance, workshops, other tier programs
In total about $14 million was paid to the athletes.
Here's why $14 million is great:
A majority of this money went to athletes who were top three in their events. Twenty-eight athletes earned over $100K, 111 athletes earned over $38K, and 179 athletes earned over $25K. These 179 athletes all are top three caliber athletes. They had stellar 2016 seasons which opened up a revenue stream into their pockets via prize money and money from USATF. A large majority of these athlete most likely also have sponsorship deals, thus $25K-$100K on top of their sponsorship salary is pretty good.
Here's why $14 million is not great:
If you aren't top three in your event, you are shit out of luck. USATF's compensation to athletes is designed to reward the best of the best. In USATF's eyes simply qualifying for the Olympic Trials or making an event final doesn't deserve large compensation. USATF's ultimate goal is about winning world medals, so its revenue distribution plan is designed to reward the potential medalists not the potential U.S. finalists.
Here's why USATF won't give the same financial love to a top 8 athlete:
Basically, our sport is too big to be supported fully by a governing body. USATF is not just one sport; it is a combination of running, jumping, and throwing events. In total there will be 129 different USATF champions crowned in 2016. Of those 129 events, 43 are Olympic qualifiers. Forty-two are other world championship qualifiers (IAAF/IAU/WMRA), and the remaining 44 are U.S.-only championships.
01 | Indoor | M | 60m | IAAF Event |
02 | Indoor | W | 60m | IAAF Event |
03 | Indoor | M | 400m | IAAF Event |
04 | Indoor | W | 400m | IAAF Event |
05 | Indoor | M | 800m | IAAF Event |
06 | Indoor | W | 800m | IAAF Event |
07 | Indoor | M | 1500m | IAAF Event |
08 | Indoor | W | 1500m | IAAF Event |
09 | Indoor | M | 3000m | IAAF Event |
10 | Indoor | W | 3000m | IAAF Event |
11 | Indoor | M | 60m Hurdles | IAAF Event |
12 | Indoor | W | 60m Hurdles | IAAF Event |
13 | Indoor | M | High Jump | IAAF Event |
14 | Indoor | W | High Jump | IAAF Event |
15 | Indoor | M | Pole Vault | IAAF Event |
16 | Indoor | W | Pole Vault | IAAF Event |
17 | Indoor | M | Long Jump | IAAF Event |
18 | Indoor | W | Long Jump | IAAF Event |
19 | Indoor | M | Triple Jump | IAAF Event |
20 | Indoor | W | Triple Jump | IAAF Event |
21 | Indoor | M | Shot Put | IAAF Event |
22 | Indoor | W | Shot Put | IAAF Event |
23 | Indoor | M | Weight Throw | IAAF Event |
24 | Indoor | W | Weight Throw | IAAF Event |
25 | Indoor | M | Heptathlon | IAAF Event |
26 | Indoor | W | Pentathlon | IAAF Event |
27 | Outdoor | M | 100m | Olympic Event |
28 | Outdoor | W | 100m | Olympic Event |
29 | Outdoor | M | 200m | Olympic Event |
30 | Outdoor | W | 200m | Olympic Event |
31 | Outdoor | M | 400m | Olympic Event |
32 | Outdoor | W | 400m | Olympic Event |
33 | Outdoor | M | 800m | Olympic Event |
34 | Outdoor | W | 800m | Olympic Event |
35 | Outdoor | M | 1500m | Olympic Event |
36 | Outdoor | W | 1500m | Olympic Event |
37 | Outdoor | M | 5000m | Olympic Event |
38 | Outdoor | W | 5000m | Olympic Event |
39 | Outdoor | M | 10000m | Olympic Event |
40 | Outdoor | W | 10000m | Olympic Event |
41 | Outdoor | M | 110m Hurdles | Olympic Event |
42 | Outdoor | W | 100m Hurdles | Olympic Event |
43 | Outdoor | M | 400m Hurdles | Olympic Event |
44 | Outdoor | W | 400m Hurdles | Olympic Event |
45 | Outdoor | M | 3000m Steeplechase | Olympic Event |
46 | Outdoor | W | 3000m Steeplechase | Olympic Event |
47 | Outdoor | M | High Jump | Olympic Event |
48 | Outdoor | W | High Jump | Olympic Event |
49 | Outdoor | M | Pole Vault | Olympic Event |
50 | Outdoor | W | Pole Vault | Olympic Event |
51 | Outdoor | M | Long Jump | Olympic Event |
52 | Outdoor | W | Long Jump | Olympic Event |
53 | Outdoor | M | Triple Jump | Olympic Event |
54 | Outdoor | W | Triple Jump | Olympic Event |
55 | Outdoor | M | Shot Put | Olympic Event |
56 | Outdoor | W | Shot Put | Olympic Event |
57 | Outdoor | M | Discus Throw | Olympic Event |
58 | Outdoor | W | Discus Throw | Olympic Event |
59 | Outdoor | M | Hammer Throw | Olympic Event |
60 | Outdoor | W | Hammer Throw | Olympic Event |
61 | Outdoor | M | Javelin Throw | Olympic Event |
62 | Outdoor | W | Javelin Throw | Olympic Event |
63 | Outdoor | M | Decathlon | Olympic Event |
64 | Outdoor | W | Heptathlon | Olympic Event |
65 | Road | M | 1 Mile | N/A |
66 | Road | W | 1 Mile | N/A |
67 | Road | M | 5km | N/A |
68 | Road | W | 5km | N/A |
69 | Road | W | 10km | N/A |
70 | Road | M | 15km | N/A |
71 | Road | W | 15km | N/A |
72 | Road | M | 10 Mile | N/A |
73 | Road | W | 10 Mile | N/A |
74 | Road | M | 20km | N/A |
75 | Road | W | 20km | N/A |
76 | Road | M | Half Marathon | IAAF Event |
77 | Road | W | Half Marathon | IAAF Event |
78 | Road | M | 25km | N/A |
79 | Road | W | 25km | N/A |
80 | Road | M | Marathon | Olympic Event |
81 | Road | W | Marathon | Olympic Event |
82 | XC | M | 10km | IAAF Event |
83 | XC | W | 10km | IAAF Event |
84 | Trail | M | Half Marathon | N/A |
85 | Trail | W | Half Marathon | N/A |
86 | Trail | M | 30km | N/A |
87 | Trail | W | 30km | N/A |
88 | Trail | M | Marathon | N/A |
89 | Trail | W | Marathon | N/A |
90 | Trail | M | 50km | N/A |
91 | Trail | W | 50km | N/A |
92 | Trail | M | 50 Mile | IAU Event |
93 | Trail | W | 50 Mile | IAU Event |
94 | Trail | M | 100km | N/A |
95 | Trail | W | 100km | N/A |
96 | Trail | M | 100 Mile | N/A |
97 | Trail | W | 100 Mile | N/A |
98 | Ultra | M | 50km | IAU Event |
99 | Ultra | W | 50km | IAU Event |
100 | Ultra | M | 50 Mile | N/A |
101 | Ultra | W | 50 Mile | N/A |
102 | Ultra | M | 100km | IAU Event |
103 | Ultra | W | 100km | IAU Event |
104 | Ultra | M | 24 Hour | IAU Event |
105 | Ultra | W | 24 Hour | IAU Event |
106 | Mountain | M | 6.6 Mile | WMRA Event |
107 | Mountain | W | 6.6 Mile | WMRA Event |
108 | Race Walk | M | 1600m | N/A |
109 | Race Walk | W | 1600m | N/A |
110 | Race Walk | M | 3000m | N/A |
111 | Race Walk | W | 3000m | N/A |
112 | Race Walk | M | 5000m | N/A |
113 | Race Walk | W | 5000m | N/A |
114 | Race Walk | M | 5km | N/A |
115 | Race Walk | W | 5km | N/A |
116 | Race Walk | M | 10km | IAAF Event |
117 | Race Walk | W | 10km | IAAF Event |
118 | Race Walk | M | 1 Hour | N/A |
119 | Race Walk | W | 1 Hour | N/A |
120 | Race Walk | M | 15km | N/A |
121 | Race Walk | W | 15km | N/A |
122 | Race Walk | M | 20km | Olympic Event |
123 | Race Walk | W | 20km | Olympic Event |
124 | Race Walk | M | 30km | N/A |
125 | Race Walk | W | 30km | N/A |
126 | Race Walk | M | 40km | N/A |
127 | Race Walk | W | 40km | N/A |
128 | Race Walk | M | 50km | Olympic Event |
129 | Race Walk | W | 50km | N/A |
When Phoebe Wright wrote on FloTrack about a lack of funding after her sixth-place Olympic Trials finish, Wright's performances at first glance seemed to put her in a very small elite few. But when you extrapolate top eight finishes to all of the USATF championship events, Wright is one of 800-plus, not even including elite injured athletes.
How many elite athletes are in our sport?
415 athletes can claim they have a top eight U.S. mark in an IAAF event in 2016
701 athletes can claim they have a top eight finish in a USATF Championship event
817 athletes can claim they have a top eight U.S. mark in an IAAF event in 2016 -or- a top eight finish in a USATF Championship event.
1,332 athletes qualified and competed at the 2016 Olympic Trials
In Summary…
800-plus athletes can arguably say they are one of the best in their event due to their top eight in the nation credentials.
1,300-plus athletes can say they were in the running to qualify for Team USA.
So how much would it cost to support these elite athletes?
Let's use an even 1,000 as the core number of elite USATF athletes based on the numbers listed above.
To send an athlete to the USATF annual meeting: $400 ($200 airfare + $200 hotel)
$400 x 1000 athletes = $400,000
To give an athlete a yearly travel budget: $3,200 ($400 x 8 trips)
$3,200 x 1000 athletes = $3.2 Million
To give an athlete a base salary: $25,000
$25,000 x 1000 athletes = $25 Million
To give current athlete prize money
$2.6 million (What USATF gave in 2016)
That's $31.2 million total, more than the approximately $20-million annual value of USATF's deal with Nike.
Obviously, all of these estimates are not exact but just serve to show the scale of cost of compensating all of the elite athletes in a sport of this size. But these are just the estimated costs of direct money to the elite athletes. USATF has many other expenses, including meet production costs, event rights, staffing, athlete programs, plus all of the youth, junior, masters, and Paralympic events that it is obligated to run/support.
Right now, USATF does a good job at supporting the top three athletes in each event. The problem comes when you try to support the top eight. The reason USATF doesn't support a larger portion of the athletes is mostly that there are too many top eight caliber athletes to support equitably. The only way non-top three athletes will start getting paid is more money in the sports or fewer events.
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