Track Start-Up Athlos Makes ‘Millions’ but No Profit Yet

October 10, 2025

The track and field start-up Athlos “has not been a profitable endeavor yet,” founder Alexis Ohanian said at a press conference in New York City on Thursday.

Asked by Front Office Sports about Athlos’s revenue and ownership structure, Ohanian declined to say how much revenue it was pulling in, only disclosing that the event would make “millions” of dollars this year, increasing last year’s revenue by “3X, 4X.” He also said that he and his fund, Seven Seven Six, own “100%” of Athlos outside of the three athletes—sprinters Gabby Thomas and Sha’Carri Richardson and jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall—who already are “advisor-owners” in Athlos. Ohanian declined to say what share of the venture they owned.

The event is moving to a team-based league format next year; Ohanian said that “we take a lot of inspiration from our friends over at Unrivaled” and that like the women’s basketball league, he plans to give competitors equity next year.

Amid an ongoing running boom that has pushed the global running market to a $90 billion industry and the quadrennial surge in track’s popularity around the Olympics, start-up money flooded into professional track in 2024 and 2025.

Much of it ran into the reality that has plagued the sport for years: It’s challenging to turn the masses of casual runners into track and field fans. Grand Slam Track, a rival Ohanian has repeatedly tweaked, launched with what they said was $30 million and funding; it failed to complete its initial season or pay athletes more than half of what they’re owed so far. Its future is in doubt as it seeks more emergency funding. Athlos will pay out more $750,000 on Friday night, a fraction of the millions that Grand Slam promised, but with a guarantee to pay the athletes immediately. FOS