It doesn’t matter if it’s salary or endorsements. The point is, MLS wants people to know just how much a soccer player could potentially make.
Beckham currently generates about $38M/year through salary ($8M) and endorsements ($30M). So while $50M/year is a decent 30% increase, it is still within the ballpark of his existing income.
All I know is what I read: Beckham’s contract is for $250,000,000 for 5 years. That doesn’t include endorsements. No mention of endorsements.
Yes, maybe I missed something.
Kids play for money. Ha. That’s pretty funny. Don’t kids play because it’s fun?
It doesn’t matter if it’s salary or endorsements. The point is, MLS wants people to know just how much a soccer player could potentially make.[/quote]
Yeah, there’s a realistic outlook.
I am optimistic that this will give soccer a huge boost in the US. Almost 20 years ago, when Wayne Gretzky got traded to LA, hockey exploded in the southern US. I doubt there would be teams in Florida and two more teams in California had he stayed in Edmonton. And now with American parents seeing someone making 50 million a year playing, they’ll have a reason to make their kids stick with it.
I just got more on the Beckham story … it includes everything, not just ‘salary’.
But on another note, some people knowledgable in soccer (football) stated that Beckham is a little over mediocre player not even close to Pele and other big names, the only thing he can is ‘swing the ball over’, and that he actually didn’t bring anything to football except his name and showmanship, Beckham is a only a brandname made by marketing not soccer. Good for him, not so good for football. The last couple of years that he played in Spain he actually didn’t achieve that much, not enough to offset the price they payed for him.
The only difference there, is that NHL hockey was already one of the big four sports (MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL) before Gretzky got traded. Soccer isn’t even close to that grouping for popularity, fan base, ticket sales, etc.
I do agree with you though, that Beckham in California will give soccer a huge boost in the US, much like what Pele did for the sport, although Beckham and Pele bring very different things to the table.
Beckham is traded as a commodity …
and thankfully not a speechmaker (he has got a lot better) or soccer player(he hasn’t got a lot better).
Precisely. They play for fun.
But what happens when they’re not having fun?
Kids will practice for hours on their own, long past the time when it’s fun. They keep going because of determination, not fun. For the ones with the most dedication a big part of that comes from a dream of greatness in the sport. It’s the idols of sports, their fame and fortune that give them that.
Up until now, MLS in the US hasn’t had a star who can compete with NBA, NFL, or MLB stars in terms of either fame or fortune. Splashing a headline like $250mil. with a superstar face in the US hopefully gets them a dream of greatness in a million young kids.
Or they keep going because their talent is head and shoulders above that of their peers, and they know it. It’s only human nature to want to be loved for the one thing you do better than anybody else. And it’s easy and not unreasonable to conclude that the better you become through practice, the more you see those looks of blended envy, awe, and fear in the eyes of men older than you, which can represent a very realistic if false substitute for love. Especially for those who are inherently predisposed to deny intimacy, i.e., most professional athletes.
Looks like he’s out of luck at Real for the rest of the season:
Is Beckham going to go the Scientology route?
Probably … without that, no networking in LA …
[quote=“R. Daneel Olivaw”]
Splashing a headline like $250mil. with a superstar face in the US hopefully gets them a dream of greatness in a million young kids.[/quote]Sounds good, but IMO, it’s just business; an investment. Not in terms of making the sport more popular, but in terms of turning that 250m into 1000m over the course of 5 years, and more. It’s all about money, and providing that Beckham plays well, they will make a shit load of money. This is not a goverment funded initiative the like of “Don’t do drugs, play soccer instead.” They’ll probably make 250m over five years just selling toys. Besides, they probably bought lifetime rights to sell anything with Beckham’s picture/name on it. The man will be long retired and they’ll still be making money on his back.
Seriously though, isn’t Beckham a bit washed up?
As the saying goes … too much of the good thing isn’t always good …
Wow. Ten years goes by in a flash. Must be close to that since he scored against Wimbledon from inside his own half. I liked him best when he was still wearing “23” on his shirt at United. He was young, there was no swagger, no attitude (no misspelled tatts). He could, and would, take on players and beat them. He was interesting to watch on the field.
Ah well.
o.t. I wonder how Ronaldo is going to fuck things up for himself?
Amazing how
hype
can make mediocrity so popular. Just shows how stupid the human race is. 