USATF athlete advocates are concerned about the organization’s commitment to a new cash incentive program after the payments lagged for months after the '17 IAAF World Championships. Members of the U.S. team from worlds, which ended Aug. 13, only received the last of their promised payments in recent weeks, said USATF Athletes Advisory Committee Chair Jeff Porter. Under a much-publicized '15 revenue-sharing agreement, all Americans to qualify for the World Championship team earn a $10,000 bonus. Medalists at that event win bonuses of $25,000 (Gold), $15,000 (Silver) and $10,000 (Bronze). The 132-member team was selected in June. Athletes are glad to have bonus program in place -- it is a meaningful addition to their annual income -- but athlete-front office relations have historically been strained in track and field. The revenue-sharing agreement was lauded as a step forward in that regard, but Porter said the delays, particularly into the subsequent tax year, undermine the effectiveness of the program. He speculated that USATF did not have the financial ability to promptly pay the bonuses, which USATF denies. The bonuses total about $1.8M. "Did they have financial capacity at they time we agreed to do this? I can’t answer that question. My hunch is I don’t think so,” Porter said.
DETAILS IN THE PAPERWORK: USATF CMO Jill Geer said the payments could not be processed until the fall because the athletes’ commission, under Porter’s leadership, sought changes to certain contractual terms last summer. Those were not finalized until October, she said. Athletes then had to individually submit the proper paperwork. The final agreement's schedule called for three payments, with the last, the medal bonuses, coming in March. As of this week, 25 athletes had yet to complete their paperwork, Geer said. “USATF’s ability to pay is not in question,” Geer said Porter said the only changes they sought were updating the terms from the '16 Olympics year calendar to the '17 World Championships year calendar, and there was no good reason those talks lagged into the fall. "The challenge is, we knew in June who was on the team,” he said. "And at that point, we should have this conversation at least in July, to say let’s get this thing finalized.” Porter said wants to settle these issues in time for the ’19 World Championships and ’20 Tokyo Games.
