Michael Johnson allegedly paid himself US$500,000 despite league’s financial troubles

March 10, 2026

With a recent report showing the failed athletics venture Grand Slam Track is now US$40 million in debt, a Tuesday court filing alleges league founder Michael Johnson paid himself $500,000 without proper board approval or justification.

On Tuesday, Front Office Sports published an article detailing that several Grand Slam Track vendors asked a bankruptcy court on March 9 for approval to sue the four-time U.S. Olympic champion and his primary investor, Winners Alliance, for $25 million for fraud.

Three of Grand Slam Track’s vendors make up the creditors in the court filing: broadcast company Momentum-CHP Partnership, graphics company Girraphic Park and the league’s former public relations firm SRK Strategies. They are owed a combined $3.9 million from Grand Slam Track and its entities.

The three vendors allege that Johnson “elected to secretly prefer himself over the athletes and other, non-insider creditors,” and committed fraud by making a $500,000 payment to himself in June 2025, and that investor Winners Alliance steered the league to its financial collapse.

Johnson’s payment to himself came around the same time the league cancelled its final Slam in Los Angeles on June 12. The meet had been scheduled for June 28-29, 2025, at UCLA’s Drake Stadium. Canadian Running