David Beckham Inks Deal with L.A. Galaxy
“David Beckham will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season to join the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer in a five-year deal.
The move was announced Thursday following the end of talks on extending the 31-year-old English midfielder’s contract with the Spanish club.”
British news reports put the LA deal at US$250 million.
$250 Million!! That’s A-Rod or Kevin Garnett like money. WOW and 31 years old is OLD for a soccer player…
January 11th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
And let us not forget that soccer is . . .
boring.
Just kidding, I actually like it, but that is alot of money just to try and pump some life into the sport over here in the US.
That is what the whole thing is about, yes?
Ben O.
January 11th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
@ Ben O. Just kidding, I actually like it, but that is alot of money just to try and pump some life into the sport over here in the US.
That is what the whole thing is about, yes?
Yes, in a nutshell, that is what it’s all about. And my money says it won’t work at all.
Well, maybe if they show more pics of his wife on the tube
January 12th, 2007 at 12:44 am
Well, there’s a local NFL team here in Phoenix that has consistently tried to do this exact same thing by first acquiring Emmitt Smith, and then acquiring Kurt Warner. Maybe someone should let the L.A. Galaxy know?
January 12th, 2007 at 10:10 am
Actually, Garnett gets paid $21 mil / year and is the highest paid player in the NBA. Becks tally will be twice that and his total package is said to be closer to $1 million PER DAY!
Bottom-line: His contribution will be greater OFF the field than ON it. He will sell tickets, he will see merchandise, he will sell hotdogs and beer at the stadium, he will draw crowds and hotel $$$, he will bring national TV exposure, he will sell BIG TV $$$, he will bring the media and celebrity, he will bring even the casual fan…….. but will he score goals?
$250 mil may just be a bargain….
Remember when he and Real Madrid came to SLC. The economic impact that week alone in SLC was said to be upwards to $20 million. People came from all over the WORLD to see him play. He was treated like a rock-star. Hell… Tom Cruise and Katy came to the game. His face was on the news every half hour as crowds followed him all over the city.
January 12th, 2007 at 10:16 am
@ Angel - “He was treated like a rock-star. Hell… Tom Cruise and Katy came to the game. His face was on the news every half hour as crowds followed him all over the city.”
That kinda reminds me of me
January 12th, 2007 at 10:37 am
While stars in their own right, Warner and Smith are not to football what Beckham is to FOOTBALL. Beckham Inc. transcends sport. His pure star-wattage shuts down whole cities when he is town.
Michael Jordan is perhaps the only one that comes close in terms of a world wide brand.
This is from someone who worshipped Michael Jordan. I was in town here during the Bulls/Jazz NBA Finals run of the mid-90’s. Jordan rented out the entire Jeremey Ranch Golf Club for he and his teamates to play a round during an off day. Myself and some buddies heard about it and went to the course to watch. There were probably a couple hundred people that did the same…
Now with Beckham, what I witnessed first hand in SLC last summer was on another scale. The WHOLE city was in an uproar. Real Madrid held an open practice Friday before the game. A third of the stadium (a 70,000 plus stadium) was filled with onlookers. Women screaming everytime he even half looked their direction. I swear I had to stop my own wife from throwing her underwear at him… =) Circus is the only word I could use to describe.
For a soccer guy, there were other stars on Madrid that were better football players… Ronaldo, Rual, Roberto Carlos, Robinho, Van Nistlerooy… but Beckham was the STAR. In the sense EVERYBODY knows him. You may not know a soccer ball from a cantalope but you KNOW Beckham.