Fifty athletes will do this weekend what everyone else already does in secret. Except they're open about it. And most importantly, they're finally going to get paid for it.
What is your performance worth?
$250,000 for a victory. Read that right: a quarter of a million. If you break a world record, it doubles to $500,000. And if you smash Bolt's 100-meter record? A million dollars in cash. No dragging your feet with sponsors, no federations holding onto everything. Straight up the money.
Ben Proud has calculated it. Olympic medalist in Paris, world-class swimmer. It would take him thirteen years – THIRTEEN YEARS – of world championship titles to win what he can pocket in a single race on Sunday. Thirteen years of intensive training, sacrifices, and peak performances. Or an afternoon in Vegas.
Fred Kerley, world 100m champion, is aiming for a million. Thor Björnsson – The Mountain of Game of Thrones – will be there too. Not for the glory. For the money. And frankly, who can blame them?
Traditional sport steals athletes
Let's talk money. How much does a French Olympic medalist get? 80,000 euros for gold. In the United States, 37,500 dollars. Ridiculous sums for people who have dedicated their entire lives to their sport. Meanwhile, the federations, the IOC, and the sponsors rake in billions.
The Enhanced Games are putting everything on the line. One million to beat Bolt. It's clear, it's simple, it's fair. The athletes create the spectacle? The athletes take home the prize money. Revolutionary concept, isn't it?
And these aren't just promises. The money is there, guaranteed by billionaire investors. Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal. Trump Jr. via 1789 Capital. They've put tens of millions on the table. The budget is real, the checks are ready.
Doping, but clean doping
So yes, testosterone, EPO, steroids, growth hormone. Everything that makes the federations scream. But not just any old way. Training camp in the Emirates, tailor-made medical protocols, substances approved by the FDA. Cutting-edge medical equipment, not junk bought from a garage.
Greek swimmer Gkolomeev already shattered a record last year. The federations refuse to acknowledge it? That's their problem. The stopwatch doesn't lie. And neither does the check.
Three disciplines, three opportunities
Swimming, sprinting, weightlifting. Three sports where performance is measured objectively. No judges, no subjective scores. Just stopwatches and weights. And hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake in each event.
It's not complicated: you win, you're rich. You break a record, you're very rich. You beat Bolt, you change your life.
Hypocrisy is expensive.
The WADA is outraged? The IOC is crying scandal? But these institutions, which rake in billions, pay almost nothing to the athletes. They prefer to keep them poor and "clean"—well, supposedly clean, because everyone knows doping is everywhere.
The Enhanced Games are putting an end to this scam. You want athletes to risk their health? Pay them. Real money. Not chocolate medals and lousy sponsorship deals. Real money.
Sunday in Vegas
Three hours of entertainment. Concerts between events, the Strip sparkling, America taking risks. And above all, athletes who will finally be able to pay their bills, invest in their future, and stop starving between competitions.
If it works – and with these sums of money, it will – more editions will follow. More sports, more athletes, more millions distributed.
Official sport can keep its hypocrisy. We, on the other hand, are looking at where the money finally goes to the right people.
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