Becks Now 3rd Highest Paid Athlete
It may have been the worst kept secret in transfer history (heck, if a guy as out of the loop as me was speculating on this back in April, it could not have been a closely guarded secret), David Beckham has confirmed that he will be joining the LA Galaxy this fall.
What is truly astonishing is the size of the contract. £128 million over 5 years. That is $248 million US dollars. Or, close to 1/4 of a BILLION US dollars. Let’s emphasis that again – 1/4 of a BILLION dollars. That works out to roughly $50 million per year, which, according to Forbes 2004 highest paid athletes list, moves Becks from 8th to 3rd highest paid professional athlete in the world.
While some may see the MLS as “something of a bone yard, a place where ineffectual, bloated has-beens in the twilights of their careers can collect easy paychecks”, I still think Becks move to LA has the opportunity to energize North American professional soccer. Becks has to opportunity to put soccer on the major sports map in Southern California, much like Wayne Gretzky did with NHL hockey in 1988. If that trade wouldn’t have happened, you probably wouldn’t have major hockey franchises in Nashville or Phoenix, let alone Anahiem or San Jose. Granted, Gretzky was in the prime of his career and Becks is heading into the twilight of his. Only time will tell if Becks will have the same effect.
Really, can you blame the guy? As one of the early posters on the BBC’s 606 Boards said:
Becks has won the FA cup, Premiership, Champions league, been captain of his country, scored a goal from the halfway line, played for 2 of the best sides in the world, been an icon of football for 10 years….If he wants to go and play in America, and have the lifestyle of constant sunshine, parties with celebrities day in day out, Hollywood mansions, and be recognized as the best player in the MLS, I don’t blame him.
Yup, can’t blame ‘em.
The problem is, that figure has yet to be flushed out. Rumor has it that his salary is $5m / year. I suspect the remainder is a estimate of his potential earnings off of his image rights.