During a candid, three-hour conversation on Cam Newton’s Funky Friday podcast (aired May 30), Olympic sprint star Noah Lyles peeled back the curtain on what went wrong between him and Grand Slam Track—the brainchild of track legend Michael Johnson . Despite calling the new series “the closest thing we’ve ever had to a professional league in track and field,” Lyles revealed that months of negotiations with Michael Johnson fell through over money and marketing. But when vets are asked to chime in, the response is not the one that is expected.

“I’ve worked very long to increase my value in this sport,” Lyles said. “When he came to me and asked me to be a part of it, he gave me a number, and we said that number is not a fraction of what my worth is right now—and this is

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