I am not deserving wrote:
Who is more deserving of appearance money?
1. Elite runners
2. Popular actors, comedians, or stars in another walk of life.
Keep in mind that appearance money has to do with media hits and other variables.
I think that prize money will be it in another 10 years and that appearance monies will go to non runners.
I'm fairly sure that specifically for professional races, Diamond League events, etc., part of the reason for an appearance fee is in order to increase the chances of an exciting race actually happening.
Good runners tend to make for better races after all. For instance, if you think back to Gebrselassie's dominance in the mid-late 90s, unless you found a way to get Daniel Komen into the race, it wasn't really a race at all. Even if nobody in the audience knew who Komen was, at the very least, having him neck and neck with Gebrselassie at the very end while every other runner was either getting lapped or was 200m+ back would give the audience a greater degree of satisfaction.