The prize pool for the tour varies as each tournament will have its own prize pool. More information on this can be found on the websites for the individual tournaments. As an example, the prize money for the ATP Cup in 2022 is $10 million. Players get both a fee for participating and prize money. There is also prize money for teams in the ATP Cup.
The ATP started life in 1972 and it was created by the top tennis professionals of the day. The player had held a meeting in a stairwell at the US Open that year to talk about their desire to have a players’ association. Jack Kramer was elected as Executive Director and Cliff Drysdale became the President. The aim was to improve the game for players.
The ATP created the ranking system that analysed players’ performance and determined player entries to the various tournaments on the tour. The rankings came into effect the following year and the same ranking system remains in place to this day. For fifteen years, the men’s tennis circuit was overseen by the ATP, along with the International Tennis Federation and a number of different tournament directors.