Beckham seals American dream

[Paul Marin]

<DIV class=head30>Becks seals American dream</DIV><DIV class=t_photo1> <DIV class=photocap><DIV class=photocred>GettyImages</DIV>David Beckham: Will swap Madrid for Los Angeles</DIV></DIV><DIV class=topstory2>David Beckham will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season and join side Los Angeles Galaxy on a £128m five-year deal - which works out at a mere half-a-million pounds a week. The former England captain will leave Real in June and begin his new career in MLS in August. <SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: none">[+]</SPAN></DIV><DIV class=topstory2></DIV><DIV class=topstory2><H1>Beckham agrees five-year $250m LA Galaxy deal</H1><DIV class=bylinebox style="MARGIN-TOP: 8px"><DIV class=bylinetext>ESPNsoccernet
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David Beckham will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season and join side Los Angeles Galaxy on a £128million ($250 million) five-year deal - which works out at a mere half-a-million pounds a week. <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=300 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SCRIPT language=javascript type=text/javascript></SCRIPT><SCRIPT language=javascript1.1 src="http://ad.dc2.adtech.de/addyn|3.0|605|1181107|0|170|ADTECH;loc=100;target= _blank;key=mls+story+usa1+EU;kvsection=mls;kvpaget ype=story;kvleague=usa1;kvcc=EU;grp=4846562;misc=1 168537737281"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT language=VBScript type=text/vbscript>// Visual basic helper required to detect Flash Player ActiveX control version informationFunction VBGetSwfVer(i)on error resume nextDim swControl, swVersionswVersion = 0set swControl = CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash." + CStr(i))if (IsObject(swControl)) thenswVersion = swControl.GetVariable("$version")end ifVBGetSwfVer = swVersionEnd Function</SCRIPT><OBJECT id=AT_FLASHO1181107 codeBase=http://active.macromedia.com/flash2/cabs/swflash.cab#version=5,0,0,0 height=250 width=300 classid=clsid27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000 name=AT_FLASHO1181107><PARAM NAME="_cx" VALUE="7938"><PARAM NAME="_cy" VALUE="6615"><PARAM NAME="FlashVars" VALUE=""><PARAM NAME="Movie" VALUE="http://a1767.g.akamai.net/v/1767/18689/7d/img-dc2.adtech.de/apps/308/Ad1263924St3Sz170Sq492171V1Id1/300x250.swf?clickTag=http%3A//ad.dc2.adtech.de/adlink%7C605%7C1181107%7C0%7C170%7CAdId%3D1263924% 3BBnId%3D1%3Bitime%3D537732884%3Bkey%3Dmls+story+u sa1+EU%3Bnodecode%3Dyes%3Blink%3Dhttp%3A//soccernet.espn.go.com&amp;pathTAG=&amp;closeTAG=ja vascript%3AcloseAdLayer1181107%28%29&amp;openTAG=j avascript%3AopenAdLayer1181107%28%29&amp;expandTAG =javascript%3Aexpand1181107%28%29&amp;collapseTAG= javascript%3Acollapse1181107%28%29&amp;clicktarget =_blank;&amp;clickTarget=_blank&amp;clickTARGET=_b lank&amp;targetTAG=_blank&amp;clickTarget=_blank&a mp;CURRENTDOMAIN=soccernet.espn.go.com"><PARAM NAME="Src" VALUE="http://a1767.g.akamai.net/v/1767/18689/7d/img-dc2.adtech.de/apps/308/Ad1263924St3Sz170Sq492171V1Id1/300x250.swf?clickTag=http%3A//ad.dc2.adtech.de/adlink%7C605%7C1181107%7C0%7C170%7CAdId%3D1263924% 3BBnId%3D1%3Bitime%3D537732884%3Bkey%3Dmls+story+u sa1+EU%3Bnodecode%3Dyes%3Blink%3Dhttp%3A//soccernet.espn.go.com&amp;pathTAG=&amp;closeTAG=ja vas

[Karl]

RE: Beckham seals American dream

For that money? Well....????? (Clap)

[Gamma]

RE: Beckham seals American dream

karl? ..yuh??? start?? di???? new year? wid??????? di whole heappa ??

[Baddaz]

RE: Beckham seals American dream

only but the beginning of the 'surge' of other big ballers to the mls... there will be many more in the coming years... adidas is driving the bus... nike has their buses on the road as well... unuh think adidas and nike dem get to the top without strategic marketing...

[Karl]

RE: Beckham seals American dream

Gamma (1/11/2007)karl? ..yuh??? start?? di???? new year? wid??????? di whole heappa ??

...and, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you too!

See no ? ....Aaaaah! :w00t: (Clap)

[Gamma]

RE: Beckham seals American dream

you almost did it karl...repeat after me...every day and in every way...i'm getting better and better!"

[Paul Marin]

RE: Beckham seals American dream

Baddaz (1/11/2007)only but the beginning of the 'surge' of other big ballers to the mls... there will be many more in the coming years... adidas is driving the bus... nike has their buses on the road as well... unuh think adidas and nike dem get to the top without strategic marketing...

Baddaz, what is interesting is that it seems that he has retained his own image rights. If that is true (i.e. Galaxy get nothing)that deal is a disaster.I am also unclear if the $250M that he is getting is purely fromhis wages or if it includes merchandising etc. Either way,this is a HUGE risk for the Galaxy. They do not have the TV revenue to support $50M a year to ONE PLAYERso Iwould love to know where the $ are coming from to justify such a contract. That being said, these people aren't stupid...so their must be a method in their madness, even though the risk may come back to bite them in the"arrears".

[Karl]

RE: Beckham seals American dream

Done!

...and, please be sure to watch the next broadcast of "Arsenal TV".

The youngsters did well against Liverpool! (tup)

[Assasin]

RE: Beckham seals American dream

only a pity him too young fi the Metro Stars. Him need 3 more years of ball game to come to NY.

[Scaly Spurs]

RE: Beckham seals American dream

I dont think him coming here will draw out more non soccer fans thatn b4, the NFL,NHL abd NBA guy will still stay away.

More women may come out initially but over all I cant see it drawing big crowds over the long term.

[Jangle]

RE: Beckham seals American dream

So true mi scaly friend. The system is at flaw. Until teams are relegated and promoted, then the MLS will remain a sure-fire cure for insomnia.

[Paul Marin]

RE: Beckham seals American dream

Scaly/Jangle - I agree that the MLS needs to have a relegation system, most sensibly with US 1st Division. That would certainly introduce a paradigm that WORKS because of its ruthlessness and would REWARD success and PUNISH failure, which is the way it should be. The American system of "drafting" the best players to the worst teams is there to ensure that the status quo remains untouched, so I suspect that is why it is the way it is in the MLS.

That said, I don't know if I fully agree with you on whether Beckham will have a long term impact or not. One only has to go back to the days of the NASL. By bringing in the world's greatest "has beens" like Pele, Cruyf, Seeler, Marsh, Eusebio, Best etc. etc., the sport established a foothold. Its legacy was the creation of thousands of junior teams all across America and Canada that continued to flourish long after the curtain closed on the NASL. So while the league folded, it could be argued that it did its job and hence was a success.

Beckham's arrival to America could have similar impact. It all depends on how he is managed. If the league is smart, it will use the next 5 years under Beckham to drive stronger and more effective long term contracts with TV and use that exposure to strengthen the league. I can't remember who on this board said it, but they stated that this is the beginning of a "surge" and I agree with them. If MLS uses Beckham wisely, we can expect better players to be a) developed in America and b) attracted from abroad, thus leveraging the huge drawing power of Beckham's celebrity. We will see.

[OJ]

RE: Beckham seals American dream

THis is a huge deal. I am intersted to know how much of that 50m a year is Addidas carrying. This is really significant in terms of sports marketing and the spin off to the other teams in the leagues. I have often wondered about sigle sponsorship deals such as what the mls and the nba has. Addidas is primary sponsor for all teams in these two leagues. I dont know how MLS will recoup that but they must know.

[Baddaz]

RE: Beckham seals American dream

not sure about his image rights but i do know and have known for a while that big name ballers are scheduled to be in the mls... their salaries to be subsidized by their sponsors... like i said earlier, its all about strategic marketing... the monies to be made on merchandizing and resulting brand awareness... think lebron james... nike will not make back their money on lebron's sneakers and apparel... its the brand awareness for other products to be sold... the same applies to beckham...

if only the jff had such vision.... they had a brand - reggaeboyz, but management and marketing inexperience basically see them struggling for dollars and recognition...

[Baddaz]

RE: Beckham seals American dream

OJ (1/11/2007)THis is a huge deal. I am intersted to know how much of that 50m a year is Addidas carrying. This is really significant in terms of sports marketing and the spin off to the other teams in the leagues. I have often wondered about sigle sponsorship deals such as what the mls and the nba has. Addidas is primary sponsor for all teams in these two leagues. I dont know how MLS will recoup that but they must know.

oj... i suspect the plan is to generate global tv revenue, similarly to the nba... brand visibility (awareness) plays a significant role in these decisions...