It’s just a matter of time before Athlos NYC 2025 kicks off. Returning with a bang for its second edition after last year’s successful launch, the Alexis Ohanian-founded, trailblazing track and field event, created exclusively for women, will feature over 36 elite athletes across seven events at New York’s Icahn Stadium. Known for its integration of world-class competition with a spice of entertainment and generous prize money, Athlos has indeed gained quite the traction in the women’s athletics calendar.

But whenever Athlos is mentioned, another name inevitably enters the conversation—the Grand Slam Track. The brainchild of four-time Olympic medalist Michael Johnson, this new series made its debut in Spring 2025 and has already sparked debate over which platform truly rewards its athletes more generously. So, when it comes to prize money and opportunity, who comes out on top—Ohanian’s Athlos or Johnson’s Grand Slam Track? Let’s find out!

Prize Money at Athlos NYC 2025

A big reason as to why Athlos NYC has made waves among both athletes and fans is their generous prize purse and, more importantly, a reliable pay system. A whopping $663,000, to be precise, is the prize pool set for this tournament, which is considered to be the largest ever for a women-only track and field event. To put things into perspective, even the renowned Diamond League, one of the sport’s premier global series, offers just $30,000 to the winner of its season finale.

Athlos NYC, however, is a completely different gravy, with its event winners taking home $60,000. Meanwhile, those who finish in second and third place on the podium earn $25,000 and $10,000, respectively. Even the fourth to sixth aren’t sent home empty-handed, collecting $8,000, $5,000, and $2,500. In fact, in order to stay true to its principle of athlete-first vision, the 2025 edition sees Athlos NYC sharing 10% of its total event revenue among all competitors.

And finally, putting a cherry on top, the stakeholders of this event have also announced a $250,000 bonus for anyone who smashes a world record. So there’s a significant chance for all the participating athletes to pocket as much as they can, just like last year, when 200m Olympic bronze medalist Brittany Brown did. The American runner took home a whopping $85,000 in just over 33 seconds of racing, thanks to a $25,000 prize for finishing second in the 100m and $60,000 for winning the 200m.

As far as Athlos’ trusted pay method is concerned, Alexis Ohanian and Co. have even solved perhaps one of last year’s biggest complaints: delayed prize payments. Unfortunately, the inaugural edition saw athletes wait three business days to get paid. However, to make good on that promise, Athlos NYC has partnered with Cash App as its official payments sponsor this year to guarantee instant payouts as soon as results are confirmed.

“This year, Cash App is enabling immediate prize payments for all eligible athletes the moment results are confirmed,” Ohanian announced, calling it “a faster future” for the sport. So don’t be surprised to see players celebrating and giving interviews after their win, and next thing you know, they come across a notification of “Payment initiated.”

As far as the structure of the event is concerned, this year, Athlos has expanded by including a field event, which includes a long jump. The rest are track events, which are the 100m hurdles, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, and the mile. Speaking of the entertainment segment, while last year, Megan Thee Stallion gave ardent fans a night to remember, this year, it will be global icon Ciara.

Prize Money & Structure of the Grand Slam Track

Now, coming to Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track, it’s no less ambitious when it comes to rewarding its athletes. The league boasts a staggering $12.6 million prize pool for its 2025 circuit, which, of course, is regarded as one of the biggest financial commitments ever seen in track and field. Know that each “Slam” meet will award $100,000 to the winner of every event, with payouts scaling down to $10,000 for eighth place.

Like this season, across the four scheduled meets, the Grand Slam Track gives athletes the chance to compete for substantial earnings up to $400,000 in total. This, of course, is a case when one manages to win gold in all their events. In addition to race winnings, all 48 participants are guaranteed a base compensation, ensuring that no competitor walks away empty-handed. But there’s a catch!

Even though Grand Slam Track promised substantial prize money, it failed to provide reliable and timely payments to its athletes. In fact, the league was forced to cancel its fourth meet in L.A. after struggling to pay both athletes and vendors. It all stemmed from an investor pulling out of an eight-figure commitment, leaving the start-up short on funds.

While athletes received their appearance fees from the first meet in Kingston, Jamaica, prize money and payments from the other Slams remained unpaid, totaling around $13 million. Michael Johnson, the league’s founder, admitted the venture had difficulty compensating participants, though emergency funding was later secured to cover up to half of the owed prize money, with plans to return next year.

Head-to-Head Comparison: Athlos vs. GST Prize Money

Now, when looking at both tournaments’ prize money side by side, it’s pretty obvious that Grand Slam Track seems to have the upper hand. After all, the numbers don’t lie. Each GST event offers $100,000 to the winner, unlike Athlos NYC’s $60,000 top prize per event. Then again, extra brownie points go to Athlos for pledging a $250,000 world record bonus and a 10% revenue share distributed among all its competitors.

Structurally, Athlos operates as a series of standalone meets, while GST follows a league-style format with multiple events pooling a total prize fund of $12.6 million. But on closer inspection, reliability tells a different story. Athlos, though relatively new, has consistently delivered its promised payouts—now even offering instant payments through its Cash App partnership.

Grand Slam Track, on the other hand, has faced financial turbulence, defaulting on payments, canceling its final meet, and relying on emergency funding to partially pay what’s owed. Simply put, while GST may boast higher prizes on paper, Athlos NYC’s proven track record of timely payouts and athlete-first approach makes it the more reliable and sustainable model for the sport’s future.

Regardless, what are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments below.