David Beckham Research Paper
David Beckham is always on the front page of any newspaper or headlined on tonight’s daily news wherever he happens to be. He is a world icon in every sense of the word, adored by his loyal fans world wide in Europe and now even more so in the US. He has been in the public eye more than anyone else in the game, and is now one of the most recognizable celebrities in the world. His style is followed by millions, whether it is his hairstyle or tattoos, he was and will always be copied by his loyal fans worldwide. He is undeniably the most famous soccer player in the world now and over the past decade. Beckham started his flight to immortality on July 8th, 1991 as a trainee at Manchester United. As a child he had attended one of Bobby
…show more content…
Charlton's football schools in Manchester and won the chance to take part in a training session at Barcelona, as part of a talent competition. He was part of United’s famous 1992 Youth Cup winning side. He didn't make his full debut for Manchester until April 1995 against Leeds United. He spent part of that season on loan at Preston North End. Coaches loved him because he was a dead-ball specialist with a superb range of passing, had amazing vision, composure and a persistent determination to succeed. The composure and determination has not left his side to this day. These are plenty of reasons why any team that has him has an automatic edge and teams on the other side of the ball hate to face him.
All of his good fortune had come to him under the budding age of 21. But it wasn’t until the 96/97 season where Beckham would really make a name for himself. One of the most amazing things people remember from his young career was scoring from the halfway line against Wimbledon. This, among other amazing feats, boosted his soccer profile and a great run of performances achieved him the Premiership's Young Player of the Year award.
Since that feat, his profile in the sport grew larger. He had quickly become an unlikely fashion icon and along with his amazing talent, his good looks enabled him to become the face for many brands, including Gillette and the hair wax Brylcreem, and he continued to make a lot of money from his image in endorsements alone. In 1998, he was included in Glenn Hoddle's England squad. He scored a long-range free kick against Colombia after being left out of the first-team for the first two matches. Little did he know that the tournament would be costly to his livelihood and for his profile in general. In the next round, he was eliminated after kicking a player on the opposing team, Argentina. England later on went on to lose that game and was kicked out of the World Cup. Many fans from that day on booed him and sent him death threats and journalists made him the scapegoat for England’s loss. He expressed his feelings for a fan who “hoped his (new born child) has cancer” by giving the fan the middle finger and yet again was seen as a bad person until the whole story came out. The abuse that year was horrific. Despite being nominated for both the World and European Player of the Year award in 1999 and winning the BBC Sports Personality and being named captain of his country as well, people still hated him. He was finally able to win over England fans when the qualification campaign for the 2002 World Cup reached its climax against Greece. With England down 2-1 and about to miss out on footballs biggest prize, Beckham's inspirational performance and last-minute free kick ensured that England drew the game 2-2 and made it through. This mere goal turned him from villain to god. He then went on to sign a new contract with Manchester United in May of 2002, which made him then the highest paid soccer played in the world. Not soon after the singing, he and his boss, Sir Alex Ferguson had a falling out and even with winning another prestigious award, in June of 2003, Beckham was sold to Real Madrid for $35 Million that July. To show how popular this man was, his new jersey 23 was sold out within minutes and his new club received approximately $600,000 in shirt sales alone. The 2006/2007 season saw Beckham slide out of favor in Madrid and spent much of this season on the bench. Contract negotiations were looking dim, and with that, he was free to leave in the summer of 2007. Many other clubs were interested in signing the world’s best and most marketable player, and so the saga to LA begins. On the January 11, 2007, it was announced that Beckham had signed for the MLS side LA Galaxy in a five-year deal worth $250 million. To put that in perspective, that's about the same pay the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez is getting over ten years.
Skeptics have pointed to the financial motivation behind the move, but Beckham himself has stated that he is simply looking for “a new challenge.” In Beckham’s first season in MLS, he was injured a lot and has said himself “was one to forget,” but the kind of impact he has made already to the league and what will do for America's Major League Soccer is exactly what American’s want to see and are hoping that this will be the beginning of something big. With Beckham’s new contract with the LA Galaxy, he earns 50 time the Major League Soccer’s salary even with the average salary raising 12 percent this past year. He makes $6.5 Million in guaranteed income, which is twice as much as the second highest played in the league. His new teammate, Landon Donovan, makes a mere $900,000, which is sixth in the league. In comparison to Beckham’s new contract, forty-six players earn the league minimum of $33,000 with the median salary at $61, 273 for the 333 players listed in MLS. In essence, David Beckham earns nearly $1 Million a week for five years.
The former Manchester United player said he was now inspired by the challenge of cracking the American soccer market. “I am proud to have played for two of the biggest clubs in football and I look forward to the new challenge of growing the world's most popular game in a country that is as passionate about its sport as my own.” What Beckham now is, is the new face of Major League Soccer. He’s the new brand. Beckham will soon be seen in U.S. commercials for Adidas, Walt Disney's (Charts, Fortune 500) sports network ESPN and cell phone maker Motorola (Charts, Fortune 500). He'll likely be on the cover of major U.S. magazines and papers, as well as leading sports reports and other television news coverage along with playing soccer of course. As for us Americans, He’s the person who can turn the world’s most popular sport into one of, if not, the most popular sport here in America.
While Americans have had only brief flirtations with soccer in the past, they've had a long-time meaningful love affair with celebrities and media superstars and Beckham certainly is that. The polling of Americans done by talent marketing agency Davie Brown Entertainment found that 51.9 percent of Americans know who Beckham is. That's more than twice the 25 percent who know the best player on arguably the best team in U.S. sports right now, the San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan. What Beckham represents is an extraordinary worldwide brand and his arrival in the states is unparalleled to any other foreign athlete carrying out their trade in the US, regardless of sport. If things go well in the coming years and if he can bring the MLS standard up and bring more foreign talent to the US, he might change they way soccer is perceived in the US, and more importantly, US soccer (or football) outside of the US. When the North American Soccer League enticed Brazilian star Pele, they hoped to spark interest in American soccer. The international negotiations between the MLS and David Beckham were intended to increase American interest again. The impact was immediately evident not only on his team, the LA Galaxy but also the league as a whole. Beckham’s superior talents were on display from the get go and the Galaxy have hopes of restructuring their soccer program with similar talent levels. Not only did Beckham’s fancy footwork help the success of his team but his popularity has increased attendance levels by almost 50%. The record attendance levels lasted throughout the season and didn’t dwindle as it usually does as the regular season winds down. Though Beckham has come at a great expense to the MLS and the Galaxy, the new rules implemented due to his arrival should enable the further importation of European soccer starts into the MLS. Despite the negativity felt from some of the homegrown MLS players, Beckham’s presence in the United States has revived the popularity of American Soccer. Beckham’s arrival to the United States occurred because of the collaborative strategies by all parties involved. In order to achieve the desired goal Beckham as well as all the other parties involved had to be willing to sacrifice in order to reach the most feasible solution to the negotiations. The $250 million deal involved numerous parties including Beckham’s sponsors, the LA Galaxy’s entire organization, and the MLS. The primary negotiations involved the obstacles of the salary cap regulations of the MLS. Beckham’s contract so extraordinary that certain arrangements had to be made in order to legally acquire him. Now MLS clubs have the ability to acquire international superstars like Beckham. Beckham agree to a five-year contract offered by the LA Galaxy that is worth up to $250. Of the $250 million, $25 million of it coming through negotiations with his sponsors which include Motorola, Pepsi, Volkswagen, and Gillette. The MLS also agreed to pay Beckham $10 for the sales of his personalized merchandise. After signing a four-year deal with Real Madrid in 2003, Beckham’s contract was coming to an end in June of 2007. Real Madrid offered Beckham a two-year extension in January of 2007. Beckham had become a soccer icon, and is the first thing to come to mind with most fans when it comes to soccer. Beckham, having the ability to sign with any European team, decided to take another route. According to Beckham, "After considering several options to stay in Madrid or join other major British and European teams, I have decided to join LA Galaxy.” After deciding to join the United State’s Major League Soccer Club La Galaxy, Beckham had become the first superstar to join the MLS since the induction of the league in 1996.
Getting Beckham over to the MLS was not easy. The level of interest of soccer is not nearly as close to what Beckham was use to in Europe. Beckham is one of the most renowned players around the world where soccer is popular. Beckham had mentioned when he came to Los Angeles four years ago, he was not recognized as he’s used to in Europe. To bring a player of the stature where Beckham’s fame will not be as appreciated in the US right away was an obstacle in the way of binging Beckham to America. The MLS’s salary cap was recently changed in order for MLS clubs to acquire international superstars such as Beckham. This is a great move forward for soccer in America. The MLS has not been able to keep up their ratings with other American sports such as football, basketball, and baseball. In the past ten years there has been a growth in the interest in soccer, and with the new MLS salary cap there is no question that other European stars will eventually make their way to the MLS.
The LA Galaxy is owned AEG, who are also partners in Beckham's soccer academy in Los Angeles. Beckham agreed to a five-year contract offered by the LA Galaxy that could be worth up to $250 Million Dollars, which is equivalent to about $1 Million Dollars a week. His contract entails $10 Million in annual salary, $25 Million from his sponsors Motorola, Pepsi, Gillette and Volkswagen, an estimated $10 million from merchandise sales, and Beckham is also given a share of the LA Galaxy, which will generate about $10 million in profits per year. The $250 Million Dollar man, Beckham is now the highest played soccer player in the world. Although Beckham signed one of the biggest contracts in sports history, he is gaining more than just money. Timothy J. Leiweke, President and CEO of AEG believes Beckham is the sports icon that can change soccer in America. According to Leiweke, "David Beckham will have a greater impact on soccer in America than any athlete has ever had on a sport globally. "We are acquiring an individual that will not only be the best ambassador and the best role model for athletes and fans of soccer but the best example of what any athlete can and should be. David is truly the only individual that can build the 'bridge' between soccer in America and the rest of the world.” LA Galaxy’s General Manager Alexi Lalas main goal was to bring an international superstar to help the Galaxy win. According to Lalas, the Galaxy is one of the most powerful teams in the MLS, and continues to grow. Beckham being 31, Lalas is confident that the addition of Beckham will bring the Galaxy to the next level. In the process, Lalas also wanted to increase the popularity of soccer in America. After Beckham officially joining the galaxy, apparel sales had already reached a record figure of over 250,000 sales. One of the driving factors that made Beckham to come to the play for the Galaxy was the ability to help develop the interest in soccer in America. Soccer is not the most popular sport in America, being in the shadow of basketball, baseball, and American football. Although the interest in soccer has developed in the past ten years, the MLS has not been as successful as the other professional sport leagues in America. Soccer being one of the most renowned sports all over the world, Beckham believes soccer in the US has the potential to grow as popular as basketball, baseball, and American football. Beckham hopes to reach out and promote soccer to the youth of America. Beckham knows he will not be able to transform soccer to the next level in the US by himself, but believes he can make a difference.
This has not been the first time an American soccer league has brought over a big name player from overseas, back in the 1970s the North American Soccer League persuaded Pele, who is from Brazil, out of retirement and he signed with the New York Cosmos, where he ended up leading the team to a championship. This was a publicity stunt to spark interest in the NASL, exactly like the case with David Beckham being imported from England into the Major League Soccer. When David Beckham entered into MLS from European League it immediately impacted the LA Galaxy, the other teams, and finally the league as a whole.
For the LA Galaxy, he was an instant star player for their lineup.
The superstar midfielder with his precision passing and kicking ability off set pieces, which he is best known for, provided a threat from anywhere on the field. In his first year he played eight games, because of a knee ligament injury, but still had an impressive one goal, three assists, and was named as one of the team’s captains. This season he scored the Galaxy’s first goal in the ninth minute in their season opener on April 3rd. For future seasons the Galaxy hopes to surround Beckham with players that compliment his style of play and eventually win the …show more content…
championship.
David Beckham’s presence was felt throughout the league as well. His initial entrance into the league gave the increased attention that was hoped for to each city’s home team. The average attendance was 16,000 in 2007, up for the year prior to Beckham’s arrival of 11,000, this has been dubbed the Beckham Bump. There were large swells in the attendance of Galaxy away games just to witness him play, with the largest attendance being 66,000 when LA Galaxy played the NY Red Bulls. This increased interest trickled over into TV viewers as well with a total of 19 cameras at all Galaxy home games including one permanently fixed on Beckham even while on the bench. Lastly the crowds usually dwindle off as the season goes on and spectators lose interest but in 2007 attendance was steady throughout, which a positive sign showing fans are sticking with soccer for the whole season and not moving to traditionally larger American sporting leagues.
Soccer players in Europe and the rest of the world make salaries equivalent to the superstars in the NFL, NBA, or MLB, but in the US soccer players make modest incomes at best. Therefore in order to get the Beckham deal done the MLS instituted the Designated Player Rule. The new rule allowed only $400,000 be included to each teams newly increased salary cap of $2.3 million, and allowed the owner to pay the rest. Finally teams are allowed two of these designated players and these slots can be traded. There are currently six of these players in the MLS. Without this rule it would be impossible to pay Beckham the $250 million he now makes, while other players make $400,000. There has been some backlash against this from improving star players who have been in the league for awhile and do not make nearly what Beckham does, who is viewed as a player past his prime. However his coming to the MLS has injected the much needed and intended resurgence the league needed to start to compete with the dominant American sports.
David Beckham coming to Major League Soccer in America has changed the landscape of the game as well as the perception of the league throughout the world. In order for Major League Soccer and the Los Angeles Galaxy to bring such a five star caliber world class soccer player to the United States careful negotiations about the entire transaction were needed. In order for Major League Soccer to be competitive in salary compared to other leagues around the world for the 2007 season the Designated Player Rule was instituted. The Designated Player Rule allows for each team in the league to officially designate one player who can have a salary that is paid out to be more than the league maximum salary amount of $400,000. Each team has a strictly enforced salary cap, therefore with the Designated Player Rule it allows teams to pay players larger contracts but only $400,000 of whatever the salary number states is factored into the salary cap for the team. The Designated Player Rule is also known as the “Beckham Rule” because the main reason for the rule being put into place was to allow for David Beckham to be signed by an MLS team. Rumors of David Beckham wanting to come play in the United States had been swirling around for some time because of his falling out with his Real Madrid coach. Also, his wife – Victoria Beckham, of Spice Girls fame – has become an icon across the world since marrying David because of their superstar appeal and their overall celebrity appeal. The United States offered them both an enormous new outlet to become mega stars and with the proper negotiations for David Beckham, he had the chance to become the highest paid Major League Soccer Player ever. The contract David Beckham was awarded was a five year deal officially announced to be worth $250 million for five years.
However, when you take a closer look at the deal, the stipulations in the contract show that the payout comes out to be worth around $27.5 million dollars a year in player salary. The rest of the money comes in the form of commercial endorsements that come along with Beckham playing in the United States. The reason the announced contract price was so large was twofold. The first being that signing David Beckham for such an enormous price tag demonstrates the spending power Major League Soccer can have for signing big name players. To lore such a superstar player to a league that is considered a lower tier than others around the world, Major League Soccer needed a homerun. The second reason for the huge price tag was to say to other big time players that there is a home for their talents as well in the United States within Major League
Soccer. The negotiation that went on with David Beckham was a prime example of a collaborative negotiation. There were needs for both parties in coming to an agreement to bring David Beckham to Major League Soccer. The collaborative negotiation took place between three main groups – David Beckham, Major League Soccer, and The Los Angeles Galaxy. All three groups needed each other in order to make sure that things went smoothly from the services rendered. In the end, David Beckham set a precedent for foreign players coming to play soccer in Major League Soccer. He showed that it is possible to be guaranteed a large contract like those offered throughout other parts of the world. It is necessary however to know what else you bring to the table and to make sure that you can capitalize off new endorsements from coming to the United States. This negotiation has significant impact on the future of contract negotiations in Major League Soccer because it can be used as a point of reference for other foreign players who may want to continue their careers in the United States. The negotiation also may have an impact on all the other players within Major League Soccer who believe that they should be paid more money for their services after seeing what David Beckham and other designated players were able to collect. This negotiation can be seen as one that may make or break the entire Major League Soccer organization. The amount of money Major League Soccer is investing into the sport on a few athletes may cause a uprising from the other players from within their union, or it could take Major League Soccer to another level of play; putting it right on par with other world soccer leagues. David Beckham’s 2007 arrival to the United States to play soccer for the Los Angeles Galaxy, promote soccer in the United States of America, and represent Gillette, Volkswagen, Pepsi and Motorola as a high profile athlete through sponsorships is the result of a collaborative negotiation. As discussed throughout the semester, a collaborative negotiation is a win-win situation, in which joint problem-solving is used to gain the best possible solution. While some negotiations are win-lose, David Beckham’s contract negotiation with the LA Galaxy, and his sponsors were most definitely win-win negotiations. In signing his contracts, Beckham and the other parties each benefited equally (and significantly). Beckham’s arrival to the United States represented a new life for the sport of soccer in the US. Beckham benefits mostly from his celebrity status, incredible compensation, as well as the joy of spreading his sport to the US, while the LA Galaxy benefits equally from Beckham’s presence. Similarly, Beckham’s sponsors benefit from Beckham’s celebrity status, as a means to increase the popularity of their products through the use of David Beckham’s popularity.
The idea behind Beckham’s contract negotiations was that the “pie” was not a fixed pie. All parties involved wanted to make the agreements happen, therefore, the “pie” was expanded, in order to find the necessary solutions to achieve the goals. Major League Soccer salary caps had to be significantly increased in order to allow for Beckham’s arrival to the Los Angeles Galaxy, hence the “increasing of the pie.” Beckham’s contract can be worth as much as $250 million over a five year period, by far the biggest compensation in sports history. The AEG Corporation, who owns the Los Angeles Galaxy, even went so far as to partner with Beckham in Beckham’s own soccer academy, named of course “The David Beckham Academy.” Yet again, this is an example of a win-win negotiation. In agreeing to partner with Beckham in The David Beckham Academy, the AEG Corporation will not only be in the position to benefit financially but also alleviated the arrival of Beckham by helping him set up a second branch of his academy (the original location was in London, England), something that was very important to him. AEG had the opportunity to benefit financially through the soccer academy, and their agreement to partner in the academy also was a factor in Beckham joining their team, the Los Angeles Galaxy. Clearly, Beckham’s arrival to the Los Angeles Galaxy and the MLS was a collaborative negotiation in every sense of the term.
While some many argue that Beckham’s career in Europe may have been on the decline, his arrival to the Los Angeles Galaxy has not only extended the career of a soccer great but also greatly increased his net worth. Beckham’s arrival to the MLS through a collaborative negotiation has the potential to bring soccer to a level which has never been achieved in the continental United Stated. Beckham received the money that he wanted, and the Galaxy, the MLS, and Beckham’s sponsors each received what they wanted. All parties were content with the deal. Only time will tell whether the arrival of David Beckham to the US soccer scene will not only save the game in America but elevate it to a new level, but one thing that is certain is that the collaborative negotiation process was successively used in order to make these deals happen.
http://worldsoccer.about.com/od/soccerprofiles/p/davidbeckham.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1138600
http://www.elitesoccerconditioning.com/Greatsoccerplayers/Davidbeckham.htm
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jvBh8o3dB2LDJPJP3fN5kGF6ClTwD8VRAHMG0
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/SPORT/football/01/11/beckham/
http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_events_news.jsp?ymd=20061111&content_id=78396&vkey=mlscuppr2006&fext=.jsp
Charlton's football schools in Manchester and won the chance to take part in a training session at Barcelona, as part of a talent competition. He was part of United’s famous 1992 Youth Cup winning side. He didn't make his full debut for Manchester until April 1995 against Leeds United. He spent part of that season on loan at Preston North End. Coaches loved him because he was a dead-ball specialist with a superb range of passing, had amazing vision, composure and a persistent determination to succeed. The composure and determination has not left his side to this day. These are plenty of reasons why any team that has him has an automatic edge and teams on the other side of the ball hate to face him.
All of his good fortune had come to him under the budding age of 21. But it wasn’t until the 96/97 season where Beckham would really make a name for himself. One of the most amazing things people remember from his young career was scoring from the halfway line against Wimbledon. This, among other amazing feats, boosted his soccer profile and a great run of performances achieved him the Premiership's Young Player of the Year award.
Since that feat, his profile in the sport grew larger. He had quickly become an unlikely fashion icon and along with his amazing talent, his good looks enabled him to become the face for many brands, including Gillette and the hair wax Brylcreem, and he continued to make a lot of money from his image in endorsements alone. In 1998, he was included in Glenn Hoddle's England squad. He scored a long-range free kick against Colombia after being left out of the first-team for the first two matches. Little did he know that the tournament would be costly to his livelihood and for his profile in general. In the next round, he was eliminated after kicking a player on the opposing team, Argentina. England later on went on to lose that game and was kicked out of the World Cup. Many fans from that day on booed him and sent him death threats and journalists made him the scapegoat for England’s loss. He expressed his feelings for a fan who “hoped his (new born child) has cancer” by giving the fan the middle finger and yet again was seen as a bad person until the whole story came out. The abuse that year was horrific. Despite being nominated for both the World and European Player of the Year award in 1999 and winning the BBC Sports Personality and being named captain of his country as well, people still hated him. He was finally able to win over England fans when the qualification campaign for the 2002 World Cup reached its climax against Greece. With England down 2-1 and about to miss out on footballs biggest prize, Beckham's inspirational performance and last-minute free kick ensured that England drew the game 2-2 and made it through. This mere goal turned him from villain to god. He then went on to sign a new contract with Manchester United in May of 2002, which made him then the highest paid soccer played in the world. Not soon after the singing, he and his boss, Sir Alex Ferguson had a falling out and even with winning another prestigious award, in June of 2003, Beckham was sold to Real Madrid for $35 Million that July. To show how popular this man was, his new jersey 23 was sold out within minutes and his new club received approximately $600,000 in shirt sales alone. The 2006/2007 season saw Beckham slide out of favor in Madrid and spent much of this season on the bench. Contract negotiations were looking dim, and with that, he was free to leave in the summer of 2007. Many other clubs were interested in signing the world’s best and most marketable player, and so the saga to LA begins. On the January 11, 2007, it was announced that Beckham had signed for the MLS side LA Galaxy in a five-year deal worth $250 million. To put that in perspective, that's about the same pay the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez is getting over ten years.
Skeptics have pointed to the financial motivation behind the move, but Beckham himself has stated that he is simply looking for “a new challenge.” In Beckham’s first season in MLS, he was injured a lot and has said himself “was one to forget,” but the kind of impact he has made already to the league and what will do for America's Major League Soccer is exactly what American’s want to see and are hoping that this will be the beginning of something big. With Beckham’s new contract with the LA Galaxy, he earns 50 time the Major League Soccer’s salary even with the average salary raising 12 percent this past year. He makes $6.5 Million in guaranteed income, which is twice as much as the second highest played in the league. His new teammate, Landon Donovan, makes a mere $900,000, which is sixth in the league. In comparison to Beckham’s new contract, forty-six players earn the league minimum of $33,000 with the median salary at $61, 273 for the 333 players listed in MLS. In essence, David Beckham earns nearly $1 Million a week for five years.
The former Manchester United player said he was now inspired by the challenge of cracking the American soccer market. “I am proud to have played for two of the biggest clubs in football and I look forward to the new challenge of growing the world's most popular game in a country that is as passionate about its sport as my own.” What Beckham now is, is the new face of Major League Soccer. He’s the new brand. Beckham will soon be seen in U.S. commercials for Adidas, Walt Disney's (Charts, Fortune 500) sports network ESPN and cell phone maker Motorola (Charts, Fortune 500). He'll likely be on the cover of major U.S. magazines and papers, as well as leading sports reports and other television news coverage along with playing soccer of course. As for us Americans, He’s the person who can turn the world’s most popular sport into one of, if not, the most popular sport here in America.
While Americans have had only brief flirtations with soccer in the past, they've had a long-time meaningful love affair with celebrities and media superstars and Beckham certainly is that. The polling of Americans done by talent marketing agency Davie Brown Entertainment found that 51.9 percent of Americans know who Beckham is. That's more than twice the 25 percent who know the best player on arguably the best team in U.S. sports right now, the San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan. What Beckham represents is an extraordinary worldwide brand and his arrival in the states is unparalleled to any other foreign athlete carrying out their trade in the US, regardless of sport. If things go well in the coming years and if he can bring the MLS standard up and bring more foreign talent to the US, he might change they way soccer is perceived in the US, and more importantly, US soccer (or football) outside of the US. When the North American Soccer League enticed Brazilian star Pele, they hoped to spark interest in American soccer. The international negotiations between the MLS and David Beckham were intended to increase American interest again. The impact was immediately evident not only on his team, the LA Galaxy but also the league as a whole. Beckham’s superior talents were on display from the get go and the Galaxy have hopes of restructuring their soccer program with similar talent levels. Not only did Beckham’s fancy footwork help the success of his team but his popularity has increased attendance levels by almost 50%. The record attendance levels lasted throughout the season and didn’t dwindle as it usually does as the regular season winds down. Though Beckham has come at a great expense to the MLS and the Galaxy, the new rules implemented due to his arrival should enable the further importation of European soccer starts into the MLS. Despite the negativity felt from some of the homegrown MLS players, Beckham’s presence in the United States has revived the popularity of American Soccer. Beckham’s arrival to the United States occurred because of the collaborative strategies by all parties involved. In order to achieve the desired goal Beckham as well as all the other parties involved had to be willing to sacrifice in order to reach the most feasible solution to the negotiations. The $250 million deal involved numerous parties including Beckham’s sponsors, the LA Galaxy’s entire organization, and the MLS. The primary negotiations involved the obstacles of the salary cap regulations of the MLS. Beckham’s contract so extraordinary that certain arrangements had to be made in order to legally acquire him. Now MLS clubs have the ability to acquire international superstars like Beckham. Beckham agree to a five-year contract offered by the LA Galaxy that is worth up to $250. Of the $250 million, $25 million of it coming through negotiations with his sponsors which include Motorola, Pepsi, Volkswagen, and Gillette. The MLS also agreed to pay Beckham $10 for the sales of his personalized merchandise. After signing a four-year deal with Real Madrid in 2003, Beckham’s contract was coming to an end in June of 2007. Real Madrid offered Beckham a two-year extension in January of 2007. Beckham had become a soccer icon, and is the first thing to come to mind with most fans when it comes to soccer. Beckham, having the ability to sign with any European team, decided to take another route. According to Beckham, "After considering several options to stay in Madrid or join other major British and European teams, I have decided to join LA Galaxy.” After deciding to join the United State’s Major League Soccer Club La Galaxy, Beckham had become the first superstar to join the MLS since the induction of the league in 1996.
Getting Beckham over to the MLS was not easy. The level of interest of soccer is not nearly as close to what Beckham was use to in Europe. Beckham is one of the most renowned players around the world where soccer is popular. Beckham had mentioned when he came to Los Angeles four years ago, he was not recognized as he’s used to in Europe. To bring a player of the stature where Beckham’s fame will not be as appreciated in the US right away was an obstacle in the way of binging Beckham to America. The MLS’s salary cap was recently changed in order for MLS clubs to acquire international superstars such as Beckham. This is a great move forward for soccer in America. The MLS has not been able to keep up their ratings with other American sports such as football, basketball, and baseball. In the past ten years there has been a growth in the interest in soccer, and with the new MLS salary cap there is no question that other European stars will eventually make their way to the MLS.
The LA Galaxy is owned AEG, who are also partners in Beckham's soccer academy in Los Angeles. Beckham agreed to a five-year contract offered by the LA Galaxy that could be worth up to $250 Million Dollars, which is equivalent to about $1 Million Dollars a week. His contract entails $10 Million in annual salary, $25 Million from his sponsors Motorola, Pepsi, Gillette and Volkswagen, an estimated $10 million from merchandise sales, and Beckham is also given a share of the LA Galaxy, which will generate about $10 million in profits per year. The $250 Million Dollar man, Beckham is now the highest played soccer player in the world. Although Beckham signed one of the biggest contracts in sports history, he is gaining more than just money. Timothy J. Leiweke, President and CEO of AEG believes Beckham is the sports icon that can change soccer in America. According to Leiweke, "David Beckham will have a greater impact on soccer in America than any athlete has ever had on a sport globally. "We are acquiring an individual that will not only be the best ambassador and the best role model for athletes and fans of soccer but the best example of what any athlete can and should be. David is truly the only individual that can build the 'bridge' between soccer in America and the rest of the world.” LA Galaxy’s General Manager Alexi Lalas main goal was to bring an international superstar to help the Galaxy win. According to Lalas, the Galaxy is one of the most powerful teams in the MLS, and continues to grow. Beckham being 31, Lalas is confident that the addition of Beckham will bring the Galaxy to the next level. In the process, Lalas also wanted to increase the popularity of soccer in America. After Beckham officially joining the galaxy, apparel sales had already reached a record figure of over 250,000 sales. One of the driving factors that made Beckham to come to the play for the Galaxy was the ability to help develop the interest in soccer in America. Soccer is not the most popular sport in America, being in the shadow of basketball, baseball, and American football. Although the interest in soccer has developed in the past ten years, the MLS has not been as successful as the other professional sport leagues in America. Soccer being one of the most renowned sports all over the world, Beckham believes soccer in the US has the potential to grow as popular as basketball, baseball, and American football. Beckham hopes to reach out and promote soccer to the youth of America. Beckham knows he will not be able to transform soccer to the next level in the US by himself, but believes he can make a difference.
This has not been the first time an American soccer league has brought over a big name player from overseas, back in the 1970s the North American Soccer League persuaded Pele, who is from Brazil, out of retirement and he signed with the New York Cosmos, where he ended up leading the team to a championship. This was a publicity stunt to spark interest in the NASL, exactly like the case with David Beckham being imported from England into the Major League Soccer. When David Beckham entered into MLS from European League it immediately impacted the LA Galaxy, the other teams, and finally the league as a whole.
For the LA Galaxy, he was an instant star player for their lineup.
The superstar midfielder with his precision passing and kicking ability off set pieces, which he is best known for, provided a threat from anywhere on the field. In his first year he played eight games, because of a knee ligament injury, but still had an impressive one goal, three assists, and was named as one of the team’s captains. This season he scored the Galaxy’s first goal in the ninth minute in their season opener on April 3rd. For future seasons the Galaxy hopes to surround Beckham with players that compliment his style of play and eventually win the …show more content…
championship.
David Beckham’s presence was felt throughout the league as well. His initial entrance into the league gave the increased attention that was hoped for to each city’s home team. The average attendance was 16,000 in 2007, up for the year prior to Beckham’s arrival of 11,000, this has been dubbed the Beckham Bump. There were large swells in the attendance of Galaxy away games just to witness him play, with the largest attendance being 66,000 when LA Galaxy played the NY Red Bulls. This increased interest trickled over into TV viewers as well with a total of 19 cameras at all Galaxy home games including one permanently fixed on Beckham even while on the bench. Lastly the crowds usually dwindle off as the season goes on and spectators lose interest but in 2007 attendance was steady throughout, which a positive sign showing fans are sticking with soccer for the whole season and not moving to traditionally larger American sporting leagues.
Soccer players in Europe and the rest of the world make salaries equivalent to the superstars in the NFL, NBA, or MLB, but in the US soccer players make modest incomes at best. Therefore in order to get the Beckham deal done the MLS instituted the Designated Player Rule. The new rule allowed only $400,000 be included to each teams newly increased salary cap of $2.3 million, and allowed the owner to pay the rest. Finally teams are allowed two of these designated players and these slots can be traded. There are currently six of these players in the MLS. Without this rule it would be impossible to pay Beckham the $250 million he now makes, while other players make $400,000. There has been some backlash against this from improving star players who have been in the league for awhile and do not make nearly what Beckham does, who is viewed as a player past his prime. However his coming to the MLS has injected the much needed and intended resurgence the league needed to start to compete with the dominant American sports.
David Beckham coming to Major League Soccer in America has changed the landscape of the game as well as the perception of the league throughout the world. In order for Major League Soccer and the Los Angeles Galaxy to bring such a five star caliber world class soccer player to the United States careful negotiations about the entire transaction were needed. In order for Major League Soccer to be competitive in salary compared to other leagues around the world for the 2007 season the Designated Player Rule was instituted. The Designated Player Rule allows for each team in the league to officially designate one player who can have a salary that is paid out to be more than the league maximum salary amount of $400,000. Each team has a strictly enforced salary cap, therefore with the Designated Player Rule it allows teams to pay players larger contracts but only $400,000 of whatever the salary number states is factored into the salary cap for the team. The Designated Player Rule is also known as the “Beckham Rule” because the main reason for the rule being put into place was to allow for David Beckham to be signed by an MLS team. Rumors of David Beckham wanting to come play in the United States had been swirling around for some time because of his falling out with his Real Madrid coach. Also, his wife – Victoria Beckham, of Spice Girls fame – has become an icon across the world since marrying David because of their superstar appeal and their overall celebrity appeal. The United States offered them both an enormous new outlet to become mega stars and with the proper negotiations for David Beckham, he had the chance to become the highest paid Major League Soccer Player ever. The contract David Beckham was awarded was a five year deal officially announced to be worth $250 million for five years.
However, when you take a closer look at the deal, the stipulations in the contract show that the payout comes out to be worth around $27.5 million dollars a year in player salary. The rest of the money comes in the form of commercial endorsements that come along with Beckham playing in the United States. The reason the announced contract price was so large was twofold. The first being that signing David Beckham for such an enormous price tag demonstrates the spending power Major League Soccer can have for signing big name players. To lore such a superstar player to a league that is considered a lower tier than others around the world, Major League Soccer needed a homerun. The second reason for the huge price tag was to say to other big time players that there is a home for their talents as well in the United States within Major League
Soccer. The negotiation that went on with David Beckham was a prime example of a collaborative negotiation. There were needs for both parties in coming to an agreement to bring David Beckham to Major League Soccer. The collaborative negotiation took place between three main groups – David Beckham, Major League Soccer, and The Los Angeles Galaxy. All three groups needed each other in order to make sure that things went smoothly from the services rendered. In the end, David Beckham set a precedent for foreign players coming to play soccer in Major League Soccer. He showed that it is possible to be guaranteed a large contract like those offered throughout other parts of the world. It is necessary however to know what else you bring to the table and to make sure that you can capitalize off new endorsements from coming to the United States. This negotiation has significant impact on the future of contract negotiations in Major League Soccer because it can be used as a point of reference for other foreign players who may want to continue their careers in the United States. The negotiation also may have an impact on all the other players within Major League Soccer who believe that they should be paid more money for their services after seeing what David Beckham and other designated players were able to collect. This negotiation can be seen as one that may make or break the entire Major League Soccer organization. The amount of money Major League Soccer is investing into the sport on a few athletes may cause a uprising from the other players from within their union, or it could take Major League Soccer to another level of play; putting it right on par with other world soccer leagues. David Beckham’s 2007 arrival to the United States to play soccer for the Los Angeles Galaxy, promote soccer in the United States of America, and represent Gillette, Volkswagen, Pepsi and Motorola as a high profile athlete through sponsorships is the result of a collaborative negotiation. As discussed throughout the semester, a collaborative negotiation is a win-win situation, in which joint problem-solving is used to gain the best possible solution. While some negotiations are win-lose, David Beckham’s contract negotiation with the LA Galaxy, and his sponsors were most definitely win-win negotiations. In signing his contracts, Beckham and the other parties each benefited equally (and significantly). Beckham’s arrival to the United States represented a new life for the sport of soccer in the US. Beckham benefits mostly from his celebrity status, incredible compensation, as well as the joy of spreading his sport to the US, while the LA Galaxy benefits equally from Beckham’s presence. Similarly, Beckham’s sponsors benefit from Beckham’s celebrity status, as a means to increase the popularity of their products through the use of David Beckham’s popularity.
The idea behind Beckham’s contract negotiations was that the “pie” was not a fixed pie. All parties involved wanted to make the agreements happen, therefore, the “pie” was expanded, in order to find the necessary solutions to achieve the goals. Major League Soccer salary caps had to be significantly increased in order to allow for Beckham’s arrival to the Los Angeles Galaxy, hence the “increasing of the pie.” Beckham’s contract can be worth as much as $250 million over a five year period, by far the biggest compensation in sports history. The AEG Corporation, who owns the Los Angeles Galaxy, even went so far as to partner with Beckham in Beckham’s own soccer academy, named of course “The David Beckham Academy.” Yet again, this is an example of a win-win negotiation. In agreeing to partner with Beckham in The David Beckham Academy, the AEG Corporation will not only be in the position to benefit financially but also alleviated the arrival of Beckham by helping him set up a second branch of his academy (the original location was in London, England), something that was very important to him. AEG had the opportunity to benefit financially through the soccer academy, and their agreement to partner in the academy also was a factor in Beckham joining their team, the Los Angeles Galaxy. Clearly, Beckham’s arrival to the Los Angeles Galaxy and the MLS was a collaborative negotiation in every sense of the term.
While some many argue that Beckham’s career in Europe may have been on the decline, his arrival to the Los Angeles Galaxy has not only extended the career of a soccer great but also greatly increased his net worth. Beckham’s arrival to the MLS through a collaborative negotiation has the potential to bring soccer to a level which has never been achieved in the continental United Stated. Beckham received the money that he wanted, and the Galaxy, the MLS, and Beckham’s sponsors each received what they wanted. All parties were content with the deal. Only time will tell whether the arrival of David Beckham to the US soccer scene will not only save the game in America but elevate it to a new level, but one thing that is certain is that the collaborative negotiation process was successively used in order to make these deals happen.
http://worldsoccer.about.com/od/soccerprofiles/p/davidbeckham.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1138600
http://www.elitesoccerconditioning.com/Greatsoccerplayers/Davidbeckham.htm
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jvBh8o3dB2LDJPJP3fN5kGF6ClTwD8VRAHMG0
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/SPORT/football/01/11/beckham/
http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_events_news.jsp?ymd=20061111&content_id=78396&vkey=mlscuppr2006&fext=.jsp