Fanpuck33 Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 It was obvious it would happen sooner or later, but I'm surprised he came over already. Then again, how could he turn down FIFTY FREAKING MILLION A YEAR! How asinine is that? I've got to think that's more than any other team's entire roster's worth of salary. Incredible the highest paid athlete in the US is now a soccer player. They'd better hope he puts asses in the seats and helps the popularity of the sport here. http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news;_ylt=AgLi...s&type=lgns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonus Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 unbelievable. How can this be profitable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted January 11, 2007 Author Share Posted January 11, 2007 unbelievable. How can this be profitable? I think it's more about trying to increase the sport's popularity in the states and eventually help create a larger talent pool. I'm guessing MLS was behind this just as much as LA, trying to give their league more credibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 That salary is nothing, it's a 5 mil raise for him compared to his salary at Madrid I think. Not even the highest paid football player in the world. I really question why he'd even waste his time in the MLS though. Surely a team in the Premier league or even the freakin Eredivisie would be willing to shell out for Beckham. I bet Donovan is pissed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted January 11, 2007 Author Share Posted January 11, 2007 That salary is nothing, it's a 5 mil raise for him compared to his salary at Madrid I think. Not even the highest paid football player in the world. I really question why he'd even waste his time in the MLS though. Surely a team in the Premier league or even the freakin Eredivisie would be willing to shell out for Beckham. I bet Donovan is pissed. Not even close. His LA contract is worth 50 million a year, while his Real Madrid contract was worth around 28 million over 4 years. He's wasting his time in the US because they shelled out so much money for him, he's aging and can't compete at the same level he used to, and there's less pressure over here. I don't see how it should affect Donovan. He's a central midfielder/striker and Beckham is a wing midfielder. If I were Donovan, I'd be thrilled to be able to play with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre the Great Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 he's washed up and this is his retirement fund. Tiger's the highest paid athlete in the US right now and now he has no competition world wide because Schumacher retired from racing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted January 11, 2007 Author Share Posted January 11, 2007 he's washed up and this is his retirement fund. Tiger's the highest paid athlete in the US right now and now he has no competition world wide because Schumacher retired from racing. Tiger's not making 50 million playing golf. The majority of his money is from endorsements. Beckham is now making 50 million just for playing, not including endorsements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre the Great Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 true but endorsements and golf go hand in hand in golf. Michael Schumacher made 80 mil just to drive last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Not even close. His LA contract is worth 50 million a year, while his Real Madrid contract was worth around 28 million over 4 years. He's wasting his time in the US because they shelled out so much money for him, he's aging and can't compete at the same level he used to, and there's less pressure over here. I don't see how it should affect Donovan. He's a central midfielder/striker and Beckham is a wing midfielder. If I were Donovan, I'd be thrilled to be able to play with him. It was more then 7 mil a year I'm sure, talking with my friend now about it, he included endorsements when he fed me his "info" >_<....Ah, here, he got 9 mil a year. Whatever, obviously they can afford it so I don't see the problem. Soccer is known for higher transfer prices then North American sports anyway. Definitely for the money but he can still compete. He's going to miss a lot by playing in the US. If a lower end German or Dutch team had signed him, he'd still have a shot at atleast participating in CL. Donovan goes from top player on his team to another schmuck. Thats only if he's greedy thouh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Beckham isn't playing for Real right now (an expensive bench warmer), but he could easily still play for a lot of top teams in the world. Fact is, there are a lot of Premiereship clubs chasing him, but he doesn't want to go back. The reality of Beckham's situation is that he has a Soccer Camp in LA that he's run for the last few years and he loves living there. Victoria (Posh Spice, his wife) also loves LA and it would go well with her potential career options. This has been an ongoing saga for a while that all the British tabloids have been following. Beckham actually wants to go play in LA so he can work on his camp - and as a side benefit, be the face of American soccer for the coming years. His salary will actually be a pittance compared to the merchandising deals he'll have. Having said that, I honestly don't think this is a money move. though the increased salary is a great bonus. He's been talking about LA for the last couple of years - indeed, he was talking about it right after he got to Real. This is something he's wanted for a while. The reason LA is willing to pay him so much isn't just for his skills on the field (of which he still has plenty - don't let his situation in Madrid fool you - he really could still be playing for England's national club), but for the exposure. American soccer has lagged behind the world for a long time, and with a few big-name players coming over now, when the sport is really starting to take hold, we may very well see soccer rocket up the interest charts of Americans. Beckham isn't the first, and he won't be the last big name going over there. With the American national team rated so highly, what this boils down to is a bid to increase the popularity of the sport, and since the Galaxy (the LA team) is the Canadiens/Yankees/Celtics of the US soccer league, it's the perfect vehicle in which to grow the game in North America. I suspect that, within the next decade, the North America leagues will be at least on a par with the rest of the Americas and second only to the Euro leagues world-wide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted January 11, 2007 Author Share Posted January 11, 2007 Michael Schumacher made 80 mil just to drive last year. Asinine, but at least in F1 they do more than make left hand turns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre the Great Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Asinine, but at least in F1 they do more than make left hand turns. Very true plus Schumacher now I think now is apart of the Ferrari Corporation so he's a big wig now. In fact Shuey's old boss is now a public head for the company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doktor Kosmos Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 More than anything it was a PR stunt when Real Madrid bought Beckham from Man United. Don't underestimate how much money they made because of selling a ton of jerseys and souvenirs. My guess is this time Beckham's transfer is also most of all about PR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted January 11, 2007 Author Share Posted January 11, 2007 He's been talking about LA for the last couple of years - indeed, he was talking about it right after he got to Real. This is something he's wanted for a while. Yeah, we all knew it would happen at some point, but I don't think anyone thought it would be this soon and for this much money. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if he makes more than the 5-6 MLS teams combined. The league's highest paid player was Donovan, and he's making less than a million a year. I wonder how long till fatty Ronaldo comes to the MLS now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre the Great Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Yeah, we all knew it would happen at some point, but I don't think anyone thought it would be this soon and for this much money. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if he makes more than the 5-6 MLS teams combined. The league's highest paid player was Donovan, and he's making less than a million a year. I wonder how long till fatty Ronaldo comes to the MLS now. lol pretty soon I gather since most euros think of the MLS as a retirement fund. I'm surprised Zidane didn't come over here, since he's more popular then ever now. A lot of the players though see the MLS as inferior in fact thats a lot of Europeans sports stars view on pretty much every sport but hockey. For example when Montoya went to Nascar last year Schumacher thought Nascar was dumb and boring. Which I agree completely but F1 really shouldn't balk considering its a shell of its former self and its a two team sport and now with Kimi in the Ferrari its going to be the Ferrari show again since Alonso moved from the best team car Renault to the rust buckets of Mercedes. Then again F1 has track problems. They've moved away from the classic tracks to boring tracks created by the same person. snore fest. Its a race to the first corner on the first lap and thats the race unless rain is involved. No wonder the only racing I watch now is endurance racing at least they pass each other. Although Champ car is on the right track with street racing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted January 11, 2007 Author Share Posted January 11, 2007 A lot of the players though see the MLS as inferior in fact thats a lot of Europeans sports stars view on pretty much every sport but hockey. Is that why NFL Europe is American projects and rejects? Is that why all the best young basketball players come to the NBA? Is that why nobody plays baseball in Europe? Europe has superior soccer leagues and that's pretty much it, except for the racing I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre the Great Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Yeah the only sport that is respected in Europe is hockey and basketball. But then again that has to do with Europeans picking up that sport. When Dirk, Tony Parker, all the spanish kids, the italian players in the NBA people pay attention. American Football is a joke to a lot of people in Europe. They're like we've got Rugby. Baseball they've got cricket. Basketball and hockey have done well because there is no European equivalent in other words its actually an original game. American football came from Rugby Baseball came from Cricket Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted January 12, 2007 Author Share Posted January 12, 2007 New version of the article is out, and it says endorsements are part of the 50 million a year, so it makes a bit more financial sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zumpano21 Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 I think it's more about trying to increase the sport's popularity in the states and eventually help create a larger talent pool. I'm guessing MLS was behind this just as much as LA, trying to give their league more credibility. True but unlikely to really work. They did the same thing with Pele in the 70s. They imported him to a New York team - end effect, zippo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortcat1 Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 It was obvious it would happen sooner or later, but I'm surprised he came over already. Then again, how could he turn down FIFTY FREAKING MILLION A YEAR! How asinine is that? I've got to think that's more than any other team's entire roster's worth of salary. Incredible the highest paid athlete in the US is now a soccer player. They'd better hope he puts asses in the seats and helps the popularity of the sport here. http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news;_ylt=AgLi...s&type=lgns 50 000 000... that's a drop in the bucket of a teacher's salary... GO :hlogo: GO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted January 12, 2007 Author Share Posted January 12, 2007 True but unlikely to really work. They did the same thing with Pele in the 70s. They imported him to a New York team - end effect, zippo. Preaching to the choir. At least Landon Donovan is no longer the best player in the MLS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre the Great Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 50 000 000... that's a drop in the bucket of a teacher's salary... GO :hlogo: GO! yeah no kidding coming from boy whose mum is teacher its more like 50k and let me tell yeah she goes through more stress then this beckham guy has ever been through. I doubt he gets yelled and screamed at by parents and have mentally challenged kids to deal with everyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 New version of the article is out, and it says endorsements are part of the 50 million a year, so it makes a bit more financial sense. Makes sense since the league has one of the most strict salary structures in pro sport. After so many soccer league failures in North America, they have this league set up very carefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre the Great Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 I just want to see the MLS expand into Vancouver, Montreal, Saint Louis. Whitecaps are going to build a downtown stadium in Vancouver. Saint Louis is the nations unoffical soccer capital. And Montreal because its Montreal and you can't have a team in Toronto without a team in Montreal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutch_Habs_Fan Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 That salary is nothing, it's a 5 mil raise for him compared to his salary at Madrid I think. Not even the highest paid football player in the world. I really question why he'd even waste his time in the MLS though. Surely a team in the Premier league or even the freakin Eredivisie would be willing to shell out for Beckham. I bet Donovan is pissed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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