It looks like David Beckham will make his $250 million, after all. When the British tabloids splashed that figure around following Beckham's landmark announcement to join MLS, the U.S. soccer press was quick to point out that Becks could earn up to $250 million over five years, depending on certain incentives. Despite making just five league appearances and two starts in 2007, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said the L.A. Galaxy midfielder was well on his way toward earning that maximum figure.
"He's just an incredible marketing machine," Garber told the Reuters Media Summit in New York. "I think he'll make $250 million when the five years are up. I really believe that." Most of that figure depends on revenue sharing deals, and it includes his compensation for endorsements deals with Pepsi, Gillette and others.
However, Garber pointed out that Becks is not burning any holes in Major League Soccer's pockets -- far from it, the England midfielder has sufficiently raised the league's visibility to the point where Garber believes that each MLS franchise will have quadrupled in value by the time the league's expansion plan to 18 teams is complete in a few years.
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