Turkey's collecting of unhappy foreign athletics stars shows it knows money matters

Last week Turkey's athletics federation undertook a seismic spending spree, rattling international track and field right down to its foundations.

Two Jamaican throwers, Rojé Stona and Rajindra Campbell; two Jamaican jumpers, Wayne Pinnock and Jaydon Hibbert; and one Nigerian sprinter, Commonwealth Games silver medallist Favour Ofili, all agreed to become, for the purposes of international competition, Turkish. Immediately, pending final sign-off from World Athletics. Each athlete will reportedly receive a $500,000 US signing bonus, plus a monthly allowance.

We're used to international transfers in track and field, usually one-offs that happen for personal or political reasons. American-born Andrew Hudson runs for Jamaica because his parents are from the island. Pablo Pedro Pichardo jumps for Portugal because he defected from his native Cuba. 

But the scale of Turkey's current campaign is unprecedented. Five elite performers, in their prime years, switching countries in the same week. It's difficult to come up with a label for a move that bold, but here's a start:

It's a bargain.

Consider the $2.5 million (all figures US) a down payment on short-term success, and the monthly stipend a modest ongoing cost. In return, Turkey fields medal contenders in five events, maybe as soon as this September at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. The deal doesn't provide the kind of depth traditional track and field powers have, but it proves you can buy top-end talent.

WATCH | Why are foreign athletes transferring to Turkey?:

Why are Jamaican field athletes transferring to Turkey?

Cheaply, by the standards of pro sports. I don't know what $2.5 million gets you in the NBA, but I know what it doesn't get you: Any closer to