On a completely different (really, really, like WAY, non-NBA different) note, how the hell does David Beckham get a $250M contract from the Los Angeles Galaxy?
Yeah, we’re talking soccer for a second. Not actually soccer – more like celebrity and finance.
Per our research, the following is apparent:
1) Franchise values in the 13-team MLS were estimated to be between $10-20M in 2005. Maximum values were estimated to be able to grow to $50M. Somewhere the math doesn’t add up here, although we’re guessing Beckham’s deal is laced with some ownership and bonus incentives.
2) Didn’t they (being “Beckham’s people”) make a huge push for him in the US a few years ago during the last World Cup? Didn’t it net a bunch of people screaming “Get off the Today show, British soccer person!”
3) Isn’t Beckham (31) way past his prime as a player? From what we’ve read, he was kicked off the British national team and benched by his current Spanish team.
All this adds up to fuzzy math, and desperation grabs on the part of both sides. The only thing we can figure is he wants to be an actor and the Galaxy still doesn’t understand that people in the US don’t like soccer?
That said, we heartily approve of this whole scenario, because Victoria Beckham (the one-time Posh Spice) is easily one of the hottest women on the entire planet in our eyes, and the chances of us intentionally getting into a car accident with her just increased by like HUGE%.
So, uh, if anyone can explain the economics/rationale of the soccer part of this, we’d appreciate it.
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I totally would but there are links these days:
http://soccernista.com/2007/01/11/holy-mother-of-god/
Or if that’s too much to read:
Beckham is way past his prime: meaning he can’t get past defenders anymore & fails to have an impact on games. The only skill he’s still superb at is shooting free kicks which have become vital in soccer.
So the NBA analogy would be a nearly washed-up 3-point specialist (Allan Houston circa 2000?) getting a MAX-MAX deal. The media coverage has been declining as well. Funny thing is he talks like a wuss. Kinda like Mike Tyson did.
Usually fin de carrière soccer stars get on the plane to Dubai where they get about 5 million $ a year if they manage to breathe. Those players get paid by rich club owners though. There is no need for any kind of revenue. In this particular case they’re going to need a whole lot of advertising/sponsoring etc to cover those kind of figures. Ronaldinho, probably the best player in the world makes about 12 million $ a year.
Damn, I responded after all. Ask me if something is unclear.
Look, how many times does Mike Brown have to explain this? It doesn’t matter if the Cavs shoot .0000000000075% from the field, if they play with heart and if America undergoes an unprecedented, en-masse, overnight attitude shift and wakes up “loving soccer”*, this deal will work. Heart** is all that matters, the rest will work itself out.
*i.e. Victoria agrees to sleep with every man in America, starting with me of course
**See the above stipulation
Deadspin made reference to her inevitable casting on Dancing With the Stars, and I dare say that would be the greatest thing ever ever ever ever ever ever.
I would consider leaving Staci Keanan for her
It is a ridiculous contract. I would think Beckham would have agreed for maybe as much as $100 million less b/c even the top players in Europe don’t really make much more than $5 mill a year. I can’t imagine that someone would actually write $250 million on a piece of paper or whatever for a soccer player in America. So, yeah, there’s gotta be something else going on here. My guess is a reality show, not just of Becks and Posh, but maybe of the whole LA Galaxy. Landon Donovan’s also on the team. And people like him, I guess.
Also, I wouldn’t say Beckham is totally washed-up. He’s not a superstar anymore but he’ll be able to hold his own in the MLS.
Beckham has past his prime-yes
Victoria Beckham is “very nice”
He’s gonna be in trainin’, he wants to still perform well
Does the presence of Victoria help or hinder the release of ‘Who Shot Mamba?’? Is anyone else troubled by my use of back-to-back question marks?
Helps the release for sure. I’ve long struggle with the grmmar surrounding WSM?. I find using italics helps the presentation.
This contract is being poorly reported. His actual salary is 10 mil per. He can make up to 10 million in shared revenue each season. The other 30 million is built in endorsements and a portion of shirt sales. The LA Galaxy are NOT paying him 50 million a season.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/6253829.stm
I think even Posh Spice enjoys the arm sock too
Oooh wish I had thought of that, Boney.
$50 mil per year? crazy. i think thats like 10 mil more than the whole bobcats team gets paid per year…unless they sign vince carter.
Beckham is only a commodity because of the money he generates for his club throughout Asia. That is the only reason he is worth the gamble because he really is past it. That’s why Marsaille and Inter Milan were after him because their earning potential in Asia with him would recieve a massive boost. For some reason they absolutely love him, even though he’s English. This is not necessarily a move that will benefit US Soccer and the MLS. If the owners of the Galaxy cough up $10 mil per it might not matter because they’ll probably get that back and more from other revenue sources because of him.
I’m not enthralled by Ms. Beckham, or her bones, or her bolt ons, or nose…
British national team? Are you serious? Believe it or not that little country called England (you know, the one that invented soccer) has its own team! Maybe this British national team should play the North American national team sometime
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