MLS sees Beckham making his $250 million

By Ben Klayman

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Soccer star David Beckham should make $250 million from his five-year deal with Los Angeles Galaxy, the commissioner of U.S. Major League Soccer said on Wednesday, as he outlined plans for expansion.

"He's just an incredible marketing machine," MLS commissioner Don Garber said at the Reuters Media Summit in New York. "I think he'll make $250 million when the five years are up. I really believe that."

Reports had pegged the value of Beckham's deal at $250 million, but the total depends on revenue sharing and endorsements.

Under Garber, the soccer league, which is a single-entity operation that pays all contracts and assigns players to the teams, has expanded by four teams since 2005 and has added five soccer-specific stadiums and eight new investors.

The cost to buy a team will have at least quadrupled by the time the current expansion to 18 teams is complete in a few years, Garber said.

During his tenure, Garber implemented the Designated Player Rule -- also called the Beckham rule, for the international star it helped attract. It allows teams to exceed league salary cap restrictions to sign globally known superstars in a bid to raise fan awareness and excitement.

"David gave us credibility," Garber said. "We shocked the world really by signing him."

Beckham signed his five-year deal with the league in January and made his debut in August. He is arguably the biggest star to play the game in the United States since Brazil's Pele signed in 1975 to play in the MLS's defunct predecessor.  Continued...