The USTA Pays A LOT!
There have been rumblings in the past regarding the salaries of the top executives of the United States Tennis Association, which runs the U.S. Open and promotes the sport of tennis in the United States, but they may grow louder... According to an article in Sports Business Journal based on past financial filings by the USTA, former Chief Executive of
Professional Tennis for the USTA, Arlen Kantarian, took home $9.1 million in 2008 including bonuses, his last year with the USTA. His annual salary had been rumored to be over $3 million which was supposedly the highest in tennis and more than the CEOs of the ATP World Tour and the WTA Tour earned (Larry Scott, former head of the WTA Tour, earned $1.6 million in 2007), as well as many other executives in professional sports and the non-profit worlds.
What’s even more surprising and slightly disturbing given the need to “promote tennis” even more in the United States is that there are nine other USTA executives who earned more than $650,000 in 2008. For example, Pierce O’Neil, Chief Business Officer earned $1.39 million; Michelle Wilson, Chief Marketing Officer, earned $1.07 million; Gordon Smith, Executive Director, earned $987,000; James Curley, U.S. Open Tournament Director, earned $856,000; Kurt Kamperman, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, earned $825,000; Harry Beeth, CFO, earned $722,000; Danny Zausner, Managing Director, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, earned $703,000; Andrea Hirsch, General Counsel, earned $696,000; Patrick McEnroe, now former Davis Cup Captain and Director of Elite Training, earned $694,000
Clearly, the USTA wants and needs to attract and retain qualified people to serve in key leadership positions, which is true of every non-profit organization and corporation. However, the pay to senior management seems excessive. Even in the corporate world, some of these salaries would be considered high. Excessive executive compensation is a hot topic in the United States. Therefore, one hopes that there will some adjustment in the future for the salaries of the USTA’s top management so that an extra few million dollars can be directed toward attracting more people to the sport of tennis and developing the next generation of tennis stars.
What’s even more surprising and slightly disturbing given the need to “promote tennis” even more in the United States is that there are nine other USTA executives who earned more than $650,000 in 2008. For example, Pierce O’Neil, Chief Business Officer earned $1.39 million; Michelle Wilson, Chief Marketing Officer, earned $1.07 million; Gordon Smith, Executive Director, earned $987,000; James Curley, U.S. Open Tournament Director, earned $856,000; Kurt Kamperman, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, earned $825,000; Harry Beeth, CFO, earned $722,000; Danny Zausner, Managing Director, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, earned $703,000; Andrea Hirsch, General Counsel, earned $696,000; Patrick McEnroe, now former Davis Cup Captain and Director of Elite Training, earned $694,000
Clearly, the USTA wants and needs to attract and retain qualified people to serve in key leadership positions, which is true of every non-profit organization and corporation. However, the pay to senior management seems excessive. Even in the corporate world, some of these salaries would be considered high. Excessive executive compensation is a hot topic in the United States. Therefore, one hopes that there will some adjustment in the future for the salaries of the USTA’s top management so that an extra few million dollars can be directed toward attracting more people to the sport of tennis and developing the next generation of tennis stars.
|
