The future of track and field may be hanging by a thread. Surprised? Don’t be—it’s not just speculation, it’s what the numbers are saying. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), participation in track and field rose by nearly 7% between 2023 and 2024. Sounds promising, right? But here’s the catch: aside from stars like Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles, very few athletes have reaped the benefits. The data exposes a harsh truth: while interest is growing, the spotlight still shines on only a select few.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the data. The NCAA’s data dashboard showcases some interesting parameters related to every athlete’s NIL transactions. For those unaware, NIL transactions refer to deals where athletes earn money by using their Name, Image, or Likeness. We’ve picked up the numbers for track-and-field athletes, and the overall picture is quite grim.

A simple look at the stats would show that there is a stark difference between the average and median values for both disclosure amounts and total athlete earnings. The average disclosure value is $2,205, while the median is only $60. Well, the average total athlete earnings sit at $21,908; however, the median earnings have dropped sharply to just $512. So, what does this data indicate? Essentially, it suggests that only a few top athletes are high earners, while most lower-level athletes earn next to nothing.

Let us talk about what the pie chart indicates. The first pie chart basically suggests that a staggering 58% of all NIL transactions are valued at $0–$100, with another 21.7% falling between $100 and $1,000. This is a drastic measure, as this shows nearly 80% of all the NIL transactions are purely modest. Only a tiny portion of the athletes exceed the $10000 mark. This is concerning as this might pause the inflow of youngsters into the sport.

The second pie chart breaks down NIL deals by sport, revealing that track and field accounts for just 7.3% of all deals. In comparison, football dominates with 40.7%, followed by men’s basketball at 12.7%. The data highlights that there is a massive difference between track and field and top earners like football. Unless you are someone like Noah Lyles, Kenny Bednarek, or Sha’Carri Richardson, it will be difficult to earn big in the sport. Now, why is it so difficult for the sport to grow? Well, Tara Davis-Woodhall might have the answer to it.

Tara Davis-Woodhall reveals the painful truth about track and field

In a recent YouTube video, the Olympic gold medalist expressed that the sport’s biggest problem is not that the athletes aren’t getting paid enough, but that it’s too difficult to watch: “It’s so difficult to watch. It’s not on television, and it doesn’t have its own network,” she said in a frustrated voice.

She called out to the Diamond League for not being properly accessible, “You have to go watch our Diamond League, which is the biggest league in all of track and field right now, you have to watch it on another streaming platform called FloTrack.” Well, one should subscribe to the Flotrack streaming services to witness the events. Tara’s question is, why should the fans have to pay extra for a sport that is already fighting for their attention?

She further added, “There’s no one that really knows what FloTrack is. You have to pay for it, obviously, but like we’re already paying for so many streaming services as is, and putting another one just for track—that’s a hard thing to come by.” Tara stated that even as an athlete, she struggles to understand the point of this huge gap. Well, the sport might be growing, but fans are not willing to compromise their pockets. If this continues, we might witness something we’ve never seen before.