In 2022, USATF Posted A $6.7 Million Loss As CEO Max Siegel Raked in $1.3 Million
USATF says the large loss came from "planned expenses related to the 2022 World Athletics Championships"
By Jonathan GaultUSATF, the governing body for track & field in the United States, posted its 2022 tax form last week — a requirement given the organization’s status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. And while the organization posted a record revenue of $37.94 million for the 2022 financial year, its expenses totaled $44.66 million, resulting in an annual loss of $6.72 million. CEO Max Siegel, who drew criticism after it was revealed he made $3.8 million in 2021, was paid $1.3 million in 2022.
You can read USATF’s 2022 tax form in its entirety here. Here’s what you need to know.
USATF’s revenues were up, but it posted a big loss after hosting the World Championships
USATF posted revenue of $37.9 million for 2022. In absolute terms, that’s the most in USATF’s history as it marks the first time they’ve surpassed the $35.0 million revenue they earned in 2016. But if you factor in inflation of 17.99% from 2016 to 2022, then USATF’s revenue is still down by almost 10% from 2016 as $35.0 million in 2016 was worth $41.3 million in 2022. And USATF’s expenses were even greater, meaning that it actually lost $6.72 million in 2022. By comparison, USATF posted a loss of $458,718 in 2021.
USATF blamed its loss in 2022 on financial committments related to hosting the World Championships in Eugene
That loss drained much of the organization’s savings: USATF listed total assets of $46.1 million at the start of 2022, with $13.4 million in “savings and other investments.” By the end of 2022, USATF’s total assets had dwindled to $34.3 million with “savings and other investments” down to $1.8 million. USATF’s total liabilities came to $33.7 million, meaning the organization had net assets of $597,993 at the end of 2022 compared to $8,533,319 at the end of 2021.
USATF included a three-sentence note at the beginning of the tax form noting that the $6.72 million number was related to the US hosting the World Athletics Championships in Eugene in July 2022. Here is the full note:
Note: This 990 reflects planned expenses related to the 2022 World Athletics Championships. The revenue less expenses line reflects USATF’s payments in support of that event in line with the financial obligation made by the Board of Directors in September of 2014. Final payment was made by USATF to the local organizing committee in 2022, the year of the event.
The US was awarded the 2021 World Championships (ultimately staged in 2022) in April 2015. In September 2014, the US was in the midst of bidding for the 2019 World Championships, which were instead awarded to Doha.
Max Siegel made $1.3 million in 2022
When USATF released its tax form last year, CEO Siegel was roundly criticized for his exorbitant salary. He took home $3.8 million in 2021, $2.5 million of which stems from deferred compensation believed to be a reward for securing a long-term sponsorship deal with Nike in 2014. In 2022, Siegel’s compensation was $1,307,769, broken down as follows:
$708,999 base compensation
$550,000 in other reportable compensation
$17,500 in retirement and other deferred compensation
$31,270 in nontaxable benefits
While $1.3 million is a significant drop from 2021, it’s still high for a nonprofit the size of USATF. The CEO of the American Red Cross (2022 revenue: $3.2 billion) made $832,241 in 2022. The CEO of the USOPC (2022 revenue: $357 million) made $1,175,947 in 2022. Siegel has made at least $1.2 million in each of the past five years.
For perspective. Changes from 2021:
Sponsorships + $3 million, Grants + $2 million, Media revenue +$1 million.
Ticket sales -$2 million (no Olympic Trials)
Sponsorships were $109k greater than they were in 2017 yet Max Siegel is paid like the CEO of USA Tennis which has $335…— LetsRun.com (@letsrundotcom) November 28, 2023
When USATF announced Siegel’s five-year contract extension on November 9, it said that USATF Compensation Committee Chair Dolf Berle “engaged FW COOK, a leading executive compensation firm, to conduct an independent CEO compensation evaluation.” USATF stated that the findings of that evaluation would be analyzed when making its recommendation for Siegel’s new contract.
However, USATF has provided no specifics on what those findings were. Berle did not respond to an email from LetsRun.com while a USATF communications staffer wrote that “all the information that we will be sharing regarding the CEO’s contract is included within the release.”
Talk about USATF’s financials and Siegel’s salary on our messageboard: MB: USATF posts its 2022 tax return — guess how much Max Siegel made last year?
