Hewson said:$50 mil per season for a guy who doesn't even start currently for his team?
I'm sure the Galaxy and MLS must believe the money can be made up somehow...but really, how?
Is attendance gonna jump that much?
Are they gonna negotitate a TV contract that rivals even the NHL's cause of Beckham?
T-Shirt sales?
Spice Girl CD tie-ins?
It boggles the mind, is $50 mil per year more than the combined salaries of every other player in the league, maybe less Freddy Adu?
LJT said:^He really wouldn't help you guys much.
Chizip said:
i checked the salaries at this site
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/mls/longterm/2006/mls.salaries.html
Adu only made 550,000 in 2006.
The entire league made slightly less than 27.5 million. Thats everybody in the entire league combined.
Now Beckham will make 50 million by himself? Something is screwy.
The move was announced following the end of talks on extending the 31-year-old midfielder's contract with the Spanish club. MLS recently changed its rules on salary caps, clearing the way for Beckham to sign a lucrative deal. British news reports put the Galaxy deal at US$250 million.
LJT said:Beckham's popularity in the Far East is a massive and I mean MASSIVE money-spinner.
the rockin edge said:sure it sounds like a lot of money, but for the league, if this makes soccer a success in america (which is what they are betting) this is spare change compared to the money they will make. imagine soccer replacing just one of the MLB, NBA, NFL trio in the top 3 sports list, the money would be rolling in.
Snowball, welcome to hell...hey where'd you go?the rockin edge said:imagine soccer replacing just one of the MLB, NBA, NFL trio in the top 3 sports list, the money would be rolling in.
Chizip said:
would never happen
i really dont think this signing will increase interest much at all, definitely not 250 million dollars worth of interest
Hewson said:
If the sport didn't take off here when Pele played professionally in NY in the 70's, no chance it takes off when Penis Spice starts playing in LA.
BonoManiac said:
The signing will generate much more than $250 million globally, in sports paraphanelia alone.
In the short term it will generate interest in the sport across the US, or at least in the cities that have franchises. But, on it's own, the Beckham signing will not have much of an impact on the sport in the U.S.
However,what may happen, in the long term, is that more and more world-class players will follow Beckham's lead and come to North America. If Beckham has success players will regard MLS as a viable career option. Of course, if he flops then the status quo will prevail.
If more world-class players cross the pond this will have a huge impact on American soccer. For one, it may encourage the best American players to stay home rather than seeking employment in Europe. And two, the players that are already here will have the advantage of playing with better athletes which should, theoretically, allow them to grow and become better players themselves.
Everyone looks at the money, and it is an astronomical sum, but time is what is needed to accurately judge this deal. I, for one, will wait before judging the merits of this deal.
Got Philk? said:
All I'm saying is in Headache and my lifespan of 25 years, soccer has gone nowhere in N. America. But if the youth are playing it and enjoying it now more than before, we could see a change.
I do think also that it would be nice and helpful to see more soccer on TV. But hey, golf is great action too.
But at about age 10, something happens to the children of the United States. Soccer is dropped, quickly and unceremoniously, by approximately 88 per cent of all young people. They move onto baseball, football, basketball, hockey, field hockey, and, sadly, golf. Shortly thereafter, they stop playing these sports, too, and begin watching these sports on television, including, sadly, golf.
Got Philk? said:As far as Beckham vs Pele. the movie wasn't called "Bend it like Pele."
Chizip said:
Even if all the best players in the world played in the MLS, it still wouldn't generate much interest in the US.
toscano said:Copied from another board during the World's biggest sporting event, the World cup.
I don't agree with all of it, but some excellent points as to why soccer isn't more popular in the US
speedracer said:
Yes, we all saw that article during the World Cup. However, the author's "arguments" are completely unable to explain why soccer isn't very popular in China and India, the world's two most populous countries (especially India, given the history of British colonialism).
The simple fact is that soccer has had almost no competition for supremacy over the last century in Europe, South America and Africa (though basketball is slowly taking a foothold), whereas it faces fierce competition in other countries like the USA, Canada, China, India, Australia, etc.
Got Philk? said:Toscano,
Good point with the article. I will hush about soccer on tv and keep watching games on the compy.