Beckham Off-Field Revenue Grows In First Full Year With Galaxy

Beckham Earned Nearly $16.7M From Personal Sponsorship Deals In '08

MLS Galaxy MF David Beckham last year earned $16.7M from "personal sponsorship deals during his first full season" with the team, according to Rob Harris of the AP. Beckham's income from his Footwork Productions company for '08 increased 91% from '07. The company's gross profit of $20.2M, which rose about 15%, "includes income from endorsements." A separate company, Brand Beckham, receives his $5.5M "basic salary from the Galaxy, the share of the merchandising he generates" for the team and "joint endorsements with wife Victoria" (AP, 11/7).

THE REAL DEAL? BLOOMBERG NEWS' Alex Duff reports Real Madrid MF Cristiano Ronaldo "can't match the sales boom David Beckham triggered" when he played for the La Liga club from '03-07. Sales of adidas Real Madrid team jerseys are as much as 75% "lower than when Beckham joined" the club from Manchester United. Vendors said that Spain's "worst recession in 60 years and an unemployment rate of 19.3[%] is to blame." Madrid-based Futbol 100% store owner Eugenio Martinez: "There was a spike when Cristiano Ronaldo signed in the summer but there's not such a big demand now. The economic crisis is taking its toll" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 11/9).