I’m still trying to figure this one out.
Yesterday, Ana Ivanovic’s manager Gavin Versi told Bloomberg that she signed an endorsement deal with NetJets. It was described as a one-year, rolling contract.
I was skeptical because I knew that NetJets has had a history with athletes, but they never really paid them to say they flew. At a time when private air travel is down, I didn’t think there was much of a budget to sign Ivanovic, who won last year’s French Open, but has been inconsistent since then.
I spoke to Peter Feigin at Marquis Jets, a division of NetJets, who told me that there never was an endorsement deal with Ivanovic.
Versi did not return messages seeking comment. Bloomberg has since corrected the story to say that NetJets has signed Ivanovic as a client.
Translation? Ivanovic bought some air time.
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Update: Ivanovic's manager Gavin Versi was not specifically quoted as saying it was an endorsement, but both the Bloomberg headline and the text said it was. Versi said that the original story was "inaccurate."
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