Posting a balance sheet of a budget is nebulous at best. and rude considering the issue at hand. Nick is right. Until USATF proves they are paying full salary's to professional USATF athletes, they have no argument.
The onus remains on USATF to show it is paying a living wage that supports it's athletes FULLY so they can survive with or without additional sponsorship. Just like the other pro sports Nick mentioned.
The offering of this balance sheet is a clear snub. One that will draw more scrutiny and will ultimately be costly for USATF. They were better off to just hide than counter with this.
Dear pros: make a sheet showing your yearly living expenses and salary needs, put 'em on a list then post it on lets run AND send it to USATF. Would the total numbers add up to $15 million?
lets unpack this a little to see how this adds up and what it means:
say annual salaries equal 100k (rent, food, travel, coaching, diet, massage, trainers, insurance, other costs). 100k is on the low side considering this is break even income for all the expenses above. are other pro salaries break even or do they pay more? hmmmm?
continuing on..
15 million / 100k = is enough funding for 150 pro athletes to break even
15 million / 125k = enough funding for about 120 pro athletes to start to pay off debt and build a nest egg
So, if there are only 150/120 total professional USATF athletes in the USA AND who are receiving this salary directly from USATF, then yes, you all should be signing the agreement at issue.
Thinking this is not happening though.. catching on now folks?