ISL Details Return, Prize Money Payments in Letters to Athletes

As the International Swimming League (ISL) returns to the spotlight in the swimming landscape, the next chapter may be just ahead of us. Athletes were sent letters detailing the long-discussed season-three prize-money situation and the future of the once-revolutionary league.

Late last month, the ISL paid out $3,000 to some of its athletes, nearly five years after the conclusion of its most recent season, an amount that barely scratched the surface compared to what many athletes claimed they were owed. That came after reports that athletes were not paid fully for the first two seasons of the competition.

Among the big names who came forward about the money he was owed was Shane Ryan, the Irish Olympian turned Enhanced Games athlete, who mentioned back in December that he was owed $50,000 from its most recent season.

The letter, which was sent to athletes today, noted that the season 3 prize money will be paid out in “four equal annual installments,” which will then total the full owed amount.

From the letter from the ISL:

This is a new chapter, and we want you to be a major part of it.

That spirit of partnership extends to how we address what is owed to you. We are pleased to confirm the following payment schedule for Season 3 Prize Money:

ISL will pay your outstanding prize money in four equal annual instalments, totalling 100% of the amount owed to you.

The first instalment of 25% will be paid by December 31st 2026, with subsequent instalments no later than December 31st 2027, December 31st 2028, and December 31st 2029 respectively.

We will endeavour to bring these payments forward if it is within our means to do so.

The letter also dives into the impact the league had in 2020 during the global pandemic, sharing some of the trials and tribulations the company faced.

In 2020, the world stopped. Yet the ISL became the first sports league to return to full competition, and the only major sports organisation to stage a safe, uninterrupted global event that year. Through our Solidarity Programme, a voluntary initiative we established, we also provided direct assistance to the athletes who needed it most. Nothing comparable was undertaken by any other sports league or governing body in the world. While others stood still, we found a way. Budapest happened.

At the same time, we faced unlawful interference from governing bodies who viewed the ISL as a threat to their control over the sport. We challenged those who sought to restrict athlete freedom and maintain a monopoly, and we did so in the US federal courts. Over seven years, we committed enormous time, resource and energy to this fight because we believed it was right, and because we believed in you. We fully funded a class action brought by you and your colleagues (swimmersettlement.com) at no cost to the athletes involved. We asked for nothing in return: no compensation, no share of any award, no financial benefit of any kind. Every penny recovered belonged entirely to the athletes who fought for it.

We were successful. The result was monumental: a permanent shift in the landscape of the sport, in favour of athletes, forever.

Last month, we reported that the ISL was in contact with coaches and athletes regarding the potential return. In December, the ISL set a target return for this calendar year, or 2027 if that were not to happen. The letter shares that the ISL is about “building something sustainable” more specifically, a commercial model that benefits the athletes.

And we return with a clearer purpose than ever. This league was always about more than competition. It was about building something sustainable: a commercial model that works for the sport, for its clubs, and most importantly for its athletes. A future in which swimming stands on its own feet, generates its own revenue, and creates real, lasting financial opportunity for the people who make it worth watching: you.

We have proved the concept.

Now let’s build on it together.We will not pretend the road ahead is without difficulty. There will be new challenges, some we can anticipate and some we cannot. But if our journey so far has taught us anything, it is that the ISL and its athletes can face adversity head on and emerge stronger for it. Whatever comes next, we will face it together.