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.
Garber said Beckham's base salary totals $5.5 million annually, and he can earn more through incremental revenues and off-field income possibilities.
Garber said the MLS has no short-term plans to establish a league-owned cable television network.
"We're a generation behind the other leagues in terms of the growth of the extended businesses," he said.
Many U.S. sports leagues, including the National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association, have launched their own TV networks as a way to boost revenue, improve league image and control their own content.
Garber said MLS is focused on its existing deals with the soccer-only TV networks of News Corp's Fox Soccer Channel and privately held GolTV and Setanta Sports. But he acknowledged, however, that the league has looked at taking a stake in one of those networks, and has had talks with Fox and GolTV.
"At some point, we'll continue to have discussions with all three of those partners. Right now, though, it's not a real priority for us," he said, adding further talks are "not imminent."
MLS just completed its season with 13 teams and plans to add a 14th team in San Jose, California, next year. The league said this month a 15th team in Seattle will begin play in 2009 and has said it wants to hit 18 teams by 2010 or 2011. Continued...
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