Adam Helfant, after two highly successful years as president and CEO of the ATP World Tour, has informed the board of directors that he’s planning to leave the men’s tour after it rejected his request for a very substantial raise on a new contract into 2012 and beyond, according to a highly placed source.
Helfant and the board met last week to begin negotiations on extending his contract, which expires Dec. 31, and, according to the source, Helfant requested a $2 million increase — about 100 percent more than he’s currently earning.
It’s only April and there’s plenty of time to continue negotiations, and it’s certainly possible Helfant is threatening to pink-slip himself as a bargaining tool to get the money he wants. But it’s also possible that, although it’s not known how much the directors are offering, that they’re low-balling him as part of the negotiations as well.
All ATP officials would say is that “they’re in an ongoing process.” But there’s no question that the two sides are at an impasse, however temporary. I reached Butch Buchholz, the former chairman of the Sony Ericsson Open and one of the best-connected people in professional tennis, and he acknowledged: “I’ve heard the same reports you have about Adam.”
However negotiations proceed, the ATP cannot afford to lose Helfant. He has been everything his predecessor, Etienne de Villiers, was not.
Where de Villiers threw radical changes at the players, causing high controversy, Helfant has been quietly effective.
Where de Villiers was constantly accused by players of not staying in touch with the rank and file, Helfant has been the very paradigm of communication between the ATP front office and the players who make the game go.
Today, the ATP World Tour could scarcely be in better fan condition. While there appears to be a drop in TV interest in the U.S. because the country no longer has a top-10 player, interest world-wide is phenomenal. It has been fueled by the brilliant play of Rafael Nadal and the undefeated run of Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic. As a bonus, Roger Federer at No. 3, though he lost at Monte-Carlo on Friday to Jurgen Melzer, is still a top player.
Helfant was hired in January of 2009 after 12 years as an executive at Nike, where he was just as quietly effective. So quiet that when I first broke his name in December of 2008 as the leading candidate to succeed de Villiers’ successor, few knew who he was.