Grand Slam Track's six-figure-prize bet collapsed into Chapter 11 in its debut season

Grand Slam Track was a professional track-and-field circuit fronted by Olympic sprint legend Michael Johnson, staging meets with elite athletes and televised broadcasts.

That a new circuit could pay elite track athletes six-figure winners' cheques — quit-your-day-job money — and cover them from pledged-but-uncommitted investor capital.

Primary funder Eldridge, an asset-management firm, pledged investment on a non-binding term sheet; no binding round closed.

Michael Johnson launched Grand Slam Track's inaugural season in April 2025 in Kingston, Jamaica, promising athletes money that would let them quit day jobs. Broadcasts aired on the CW Network and streamed on CBCSports.ca in Canada.

According to an August 2025 report in The Athletic, Eldridge saw the weak crowds at the Kingston kickoff and decided against following through on the pledged investment. Athletes delivered world-leading performances for far less than promised, and the LA event was cancelled, ending the inaugural season early.

Grand Slam Track filed for Chapter 11 in mid-December 2025. The creditor list includes production company Momentum-CHP (over $3M), London graphics firm Girraphic (over $690,000) and athletes — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is owed $356,250 and Gabby Thomas is also owed six figures.

The launch bet was sized to a funder's pledge that was never binding, so season one's prize obligations had no committed capital behind them.

Elite track had no proven fan business at this scale, and the kickoff's weak crowds removed the traction case Eldridge needed to fund.

Professional-quality broadcasts, a Citius Mag content deal and six-figure cheques all spent cash before any revenue stream matured.

Beyond the 'Only the Fastest' slogan the league lacked a coherent fan story, so it had neither deep reserves nor audience momentum to survive the pullout.

Scaling prize obligations to a funder's non-binding pledge means sizing the payroll to money nobody owes you; one weak opening crowd can unwind the whole league.

As of the December 24, 2025 CBC analysis, Grand Slam Track was in Chapter 11 with numerous creditors waiting on significant sums, and Johnson was vowing to press on toward a second season. Campbell argued the league had lacked both deep money and a compelling story, and doubted it could craft a new narrative for 2026 without a wealthy investor to make the season-one debt disappear.