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Beckham to MLS.


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quote:Originally posted by shaku_bert

There are 2 threads on this so I'm posting in both:

I think the MLS is nuts. It will go the same route as NASL.

Start the death knell for MLS........

Its a little different situation I think. I tend to agree with what was expressed in that recent documentary on the Cosmos that appeared on TSN. With the NASL its was not the Cosmos that hurt the league. In fact the star appeal of their players proved to be a big draw everytime they went to other cities. The revenue from a fickle fan who purchases a ticket only yo go see beckham is the same as the revenue from a diehard fan. But what the documentary correctly pointed out IMO, the problem started when other teams started doing the same thing. The NASL had no business even being in many of those cities. there was no history or culture for soccer in places like san Antonio etc. Nor was there a fan base or population large enough in those places.

Plus, unlike the current situation, there were no constraints on what owners can spend.

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I'm still posting in both threads:

Free Kick I'll grant you that your point is valid but.....

How on earth can $50M be recouped? There is just no economics behind this. Maybe you'll get a couple million more in TV rights. Will league-wide attendances jump by 500,000 paid tickets? I doubt that. will MLS now be considered a serious league to compete with upper echelon Euro leagues? No freaking way. will all Beckham's image rights go to the league? I doubt that but even if they did, US sponsorship will not be huge and his Euro contracts will dry up as he his out of sight and out of mind.

I hope the $250M is just speculation.

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quote:Originally posted by shaku_bert

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I'm still posting in both threads:

Free Kick I'll grant you that your point is valid but.....

How on earth can $50M be recouped? There is just no economics behind this. Maybe you'll get a couple million more in TV rights. Will league-wide attendances jump by 500,000 paid tickets? I doubt that. will MLS now be considered a serious league to compete with upper echelon Euro leagues? No freaking way. will all Beckham's image rights go to the league? I doubt that but even if they did, US sponsorship will not be huge and his Euro contracts will dry up as he his out of sight and out of mind.

I hope the $250M is just speculation.

Perhaps your right, especially your last point about being out of site and out of mind in Europe. But, consider that this story is on the front page of every sports web site that I have checked out so far ( ie.: TSN, Sportsnet, CBC Sports, BBC Sports). TorontoFC are reportedly lobbying teh MLS to have their home game versus LA played in August. Its hard to buy that kind of publicity.

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quote:Originally posted by shaku_bert

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I'm still posting in both threads:

Free Kick I'll grant you that your point is valid but.....

How on earth can $50M be recouped? There is just no economics behind this. Maybe you'll get a couple million more in TV rights. Will league-wide attendances jump by 500,000 paid tickets? I doubt that. will MLS now be considered a serious league to compete with upper echelon Euro leagues? No freaking way. will all Beckham's image rights go to the league? I doubt that but even if they did, US sponsorship will not be huge and his Euro contracts will dry up as he his out of sight and out of mind.

I hope the $250M is just speculation.

Well don't forget there's also merchandising revenue, particularly from nations outside of North America. Now whether the investment is worth it, MLS and and the Galaxy seem to think so...

For me, being a season ticket holder of Toronto FC, as long as the quality of play improves overall, I say go for it.

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I suspect the $250 million if it is accurate is probably not just MLS money. For example, Beckham represents both Pepsi and Coca-Cola and is in fact their biggest spokesperson worldwide (despite that he apparently drinks neither). His value to these and other companies wasn't going up with him sitting on the bench for Real Madrid. There are probably only 3 markets worldwide where he could sign and be guaranteed a starting spot while opening up or increasing his marketability and those are LA, New York and Tokyo. I think his landing in LA has a lot of backing from non-MLS entities and they are probably also footing a good portion of the bill.

A couple things no one has mentioned yet: he is going to have a Canadian coach in a certain Frank Yallop and will certainly test Yallop's teambuilding/player management abilities.

I bet TFC will sell a couple of thousand season ticket packages in the next week.

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quote:Originally posted by Grizzly

A couple things no one has mentioned yet: he is going to have a Canadian coach in a certain Frank Yallop and will certainly test Yallop's teambuilding/player management abilities.

Someone on another board quipped that Yallop will probably play him out of position :D

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quote:Originally posted by Grizzly

A couple things no one has mentioned yet: he is going to have a Canadian coach in a certain Frank Yallop and will certainly test Yallop's teambuilding/player management abilities.

I bet TFC will sell a couple of thousand season ticket packages in the next week.

Maybe, but you'd have to be pretty stunned to get a package just for one appealing match. And I doubt those people (ie. those who only got ticket packages becuz of Beckham) would renew the following year when the novelty wears off.

Normally this would be good for MLS, bringing in a player who will probably be one of the best in the league in 2007. But they paid too much for him and now they'll have to pay Ronaldo (or any other big name) just as much if they hope to bring in more ageing talent.

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quote:Originally posted by amacpher

Maybe, but you'd have to be pretty stunned to get a package just for one appealing match. And I doubt those people (ie. those who only got ticket packages becuz of Beckham) would renew the following year when the novelty wears off.

Normally this would be good for MLS, bringing in a player who will probably be one of the best in the league in 2007. But they paid too much for him and now they'll have to pay Ronaldo (or any other big name) just as much if they hope to bring in more ageing talent.

Look at it in another way. If, instead of acquiring Beckham, you were to spend this kind of $$$ on a massive marketing campaign, would it generate the same effect? or have a more long term positive impact? I would think not.

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I think people will realize that the only way you will get a ticket for Becks in TO is to buy the season ticket package. Plus come game time you could probably scalp the one ticket for more than the season tickets as a whole cost. I agree from a soccer perspective the deal does not make sense but from a marketing perspective (not just MLS marketing) it does. No other aging star has anywhere near the marketing appeal of Beckham. I will start to worry about MLS if a large number of other aging but less marketable stars are brought in at inflated prices, ie. players like Ronaldo.

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quote:Originally posted by amacpher

Maybe, but you'd have to be pretty stunned to get a package just for one appealing match. And I doubt those people (ie. those who only got ticket packages becuz of Beckham) would renew the following year when the novelty wears off.

Also, Beckham's statement says he won't actually start playing until August. So we in Toronto may not actually get to see him this year anyway.

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quote:Originally posted by Grizzly

I will start to worry about MLS if a large number of other aging but less marketable stars are brought in at inflated prices, ie. players like Ronaldo.

Yes, in a way that is what happened to the NASL. Plus, some of these aging stars went to markets where there was no benefit from a return on investment standpoint.

As long as as you find a way to not let this kind of spending get out of hand, there is a positive in this type of signing.

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quote:Originally posted by rdroze

Also, Beckham's statement says he won't actually start playing until August. So we in Toronto may not actually get to see him this year anyway.

Toronto FC has sent out an e-mail saying:

quote:Though the schedule has not been released, it has been confirmed that the Galaxy will play in Toronto later in the season, giving our fans the chance to watch Beckham live!

We sold over 200 season tickets in the first few hours of this announcement.

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quote:Originally posted by Loud Mouth Soup

BBC 5Live reporting Dallas is in talks with Edgar Davids.

That's Edgar Davids, not David Edgar. You know, the Dutch one.

That is perfect example of what went wrong with the NASL. E Davids would be a bad signing. He does not have the same marketing appeal and is further past his prime than Beckham.

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The 275 Million Dollar Man

By Mihir Bose

BBC Sports Editor

David Beckham is set to become the first modern footballer to have a stake in the football club he plays for - and share in its profits.

Beckham's deal could be the biggest of all-time.

"Golden Balls" - as he has been nicknamed by the tabloids - may not have a golden share but he will make money from LA Galaxy, possibly as much as $10m (£5.14m) a year in profits.

Insiders I have spoken to have painted a fascinating picture of the astonishing $250m (£128m), five-year deal he has signed with the Los Angeles team.

Indeed Beckham could earn more than $250m, perhaps as much as $275m, over the period of his contract.

I understand his yearly income from next season, when he leaves Spain for America, will be:

**An annual salary of $10m

**His existing sponsorship contracts with his four sponsors - Motorola, Pepsi, Gillette and Volkswagen - are estimated to be worth $25m

**His merchandising shirt sales will bring in $10m

**His share of the club profits: $10m

That adds up to $55m. Multiply it by five and you get well over $275m.

Hence the bold claim made by his commercial agent Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment, who holds the rights for the Beckham brand.

He told me. "I have long dreamt of being responsible for the biggest sporting deal. With the help of David Beckham and his unique sporting talents I have helped achieve my aim."

Beckham may no longer dream of playing for England.

He may end his career in the relative soccer backwaters of the United States.

But if his agent's calculations are right, he will go out dreaming of the millions that will pour into his bank while he vanishes from the European stage he has dominated for so long.

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