Nobody gets the "soccer-will-never-be-popular-in-America" crowd more fired up than David Beckham.
They're really not going to like this.
The Galaxy/AC Milan star made an absurd sum off personal sponsorship deals during his first full season with LA in 2008.
We'll stall with another paragraph so you can sit down, take a breath and prepare another rant about why you're bored with David Beckham.
Ready for the details?
Beckham earned nearly $16.5 million from personal sponsorship deals during his first full season with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2008.
Newly released accounts from the official British company registry show that Beckham's income from his Footwork Productions company in the year ending Dec. 31, 2008, soared by 91 percent from the previous year. The company's gross profit of $20 million only includes income from personal endorsements and is believed to account for two-thirds of Beckham's sponsorship income.
A separate company receives his $5.5 million basic salary from the Galaxy, the share of the merchandising he generates for the MLS team and joint endorsements with his wife, Victoria.
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Somehow, we'll think he'll be ok, despite decisions by Gillette and Pepsi to drop sponsorship contracts with Beckham.
ESPN's Kristian Dyer saw this coming back in a 2008 article:
Arguably the most popular man on the planet, David Beckham was thought to be a one-hit wonder -- critics were telling us last year that "Bend It Like Beckham" was a downward trajectory. He would be one-and-done, according to the American public, who would quickly turn back to Brangelina and a love affair with low-rise jeans.
Brangelina? Oh yeah, those two.
That hasn't happened. And, if it has the people who provide the kind of sponsorship deals that add up to $16.5 million didn't notice.
