First let’s review a few facts:
According to Triathlon Business, Ironman just paid its investors a dividend of $220 million.
According to Fortune Magazine, annual revenue is over $150 million.
Total prize purse for 2015 will increase 3.7% to $5.1 million.
That’s an increase of just $181,967
This increase represents 0.12% of annual revenue
This increase represents sales from roughly 240 entry fees.
As per #starkyleaks, the timing of announcement is no coincidence. This was in the works but they felt pressured to come out with it now.
— The Real Starky (@TheRealStarky) August 3, 2014
As per , the timing of announcement is no coincidence. This was in the works but they felt pressured to come out with it now. As per #starkyleaks, the timing of announcement is no coincidence. This was in the works but they felt pressured to come out with it now. — The Real Starky (@TheRealStarky) August 3, 2014
The timing of the announcement is interesting to say the least. Jordan Rapp called me after #IMLP7th to let me know that this had been in the works for quite a while and it appears that Andrew Messick told the press the same yesterday. The message from WTC to the 300 #IMLP7th donors is: this had nothing to do with you; we don’t care about your stunt. So be it…
Shifting toward higher/deeper paying regional championships could end up improving the sport from a spectators perspective. I certainly will be looking forward to watching a lot of big names race IMTX in 2015. The downside is that many of the events either won’t pay or they will pay much less. For journeymen pros like Rachel Jastrebsky and Ray Botelho, this makes earning money even tougher. Brett Sutton eloquently and astutely pointed this out in a tweet moments ago:
wtc just cut the money do i hear any1 say thank u mr not real starky or dark1,fact now less pros can make livin,omg doc was right #2lateboys
— Brett Sutton (@trisutto) August 3, 2014
In my opinion this is a positive decision, but it’s no reason to start celebrating or claim victory. The total increase is insignificant.
photo credit: Lots of 5 pence coins via photopin (license)
