The "Beckham" Rule: What does it mean for us?

[NattyBo]

According to this post (http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=249364):

According to Soccer America's Ridge Mahoney,

"The league is discussing a so-called 'Beckham Rule' by which teams will be able to lure glamorous stars under the proviso that the team, not MLS, pays the freight."

"AEG president Tim Leiweke has already declared Beckham to be his target, assuming Becks will guarantee sellouts at Home Depot Center, as was the case in July when Real Madrid filled the place."


Obviously, nothing is set in stone yet, but should this rule eventually go through, what does this mean for DCU?

Does our new ownership group have enough money to even consider buying a superstar, and more importantly, would they be willing to spend it?

Im personally not in favor of this rule because you just know there are going to be markets where the ownership group will not want to spend to compete with AEG, and although it hopefully wont become another Cosmos situation, you never know.

What do you all think?

[spidergoose]

Dunno about superstars but I imagine they might be able to pony up enough cash to bring Ryan Nelsen back. :D

[Lanky134]

I don't think it's a bad idea in theory. Attendance has stagnated in part because of a lack of marquee names. Giving a salary cap exemption to each team for one could draw more people, both at home and on the road. Technically, we already have one in Adu.

[Tweaked]

well it's no secret that Beckham would like to play in the US before his career is over, mostly to increase his marketing profile, so one wonders how much money AEG would really have to spend to get him over here...it's not like Becks and Vicky are hurting for money.

[bigredfutbol]

well it's no secret that Beckham would like to play in the US before his career is over, mostly to increase his marketing profile, so one wonders how much money AEG would really have to spend to get him over here...it's not like Becks and Vicky are hurting for money.

But if he came to play for peanuts, that wouldn't look good for him.
Everyone knows that no MLS team can pay Real Madrid-type money, but for Becks to come here he would need quite a few zeros at the end of his pay in order to live up to the superstar image.

[JoseP]

But if he came to play for peanuts, that wouldn't look good for him.
Everyone knows that no MLS team can pay Real Madrid-type money, but for Becks to come here he would need quite a few zeros at the end of his pay in order to live up to the superstar image.

You never know. Pele, while he definitely made a good amount of money here, didn't come to play here for the money. He, probably, could have made as much elsewhere as he did in this country. He came here in hopes making soccer more popular in the US.

Sometimes players give something back to the sport.

[Pints]

I really wonder how much affect this will have in the long run.

I mean, say for instance someone like Bergkamp takes a boat over here.
Sure the first season, maybe two, would help to draw out some of those Arsenal fans, and possibly even some Dutch fans but after a few years it seems it will just be yet another financial burden. Is there such a massive market of folks that are staying away from games merely because no "big names" are in them? And would those numbers really continue to come and see those players that are washed up in their more famous leagues?

Until we can grow our own, and afford to keep them here, fixes like this are somewhat disturbing, to me at least.

[Colonial717]

Thank you for posting this thread Natty. I was wondering the exact same thing. For this board I think the question is not does this help the MLS? Go to the MLS N&A board for that. I think the question that we have to get to is: will this harm or hurt DC United?

Do we have the money or can we get the money to compete and become one of the few "superclubs"? Right now it is DC and LA (possibly chi-town as well). This rule will certainaly change that, and it looks to me like we are going to be the odd ones out as LA, the Metros, and espcially Chivas use thier money.

Can we compete money wise or are we just going to have to find players in the ruff that fit into the MLS better and that are not primadonnas? Can we do that on a consistant basis? Basically if this goes through how do you see the leage playing out if this rule goes through and where will we be in ten years. With 8 championships or still with 4?

[schmuckatelli]

But if he came to play for peanuts, that wouldn't look good for him.
Everyone knows that no MLS team can pay Real Madrid-type money, but for Becks to come here he would need quite a few zeros at the end of his pay in order to live up to the superstar image.
True. And for MLS, that will always be the problem. To buy a serious, European-quality player with a marquee name, you need some serious Jack. To have serious Jack, you need serious revenue streams. To have serious revenue streams, you have to have some marquee names to market. See where this goes? -- round 'n' round, circling the proverbial bowl. Otherwise, the longer and more difficult method is to slowly develop better young players, sell a few of them to bigger clubs when their value rises, buy the occasional star player when you can afford one, build the better facilities and development programs with the money you make, and open new franchises as the revenue grows. Which is more or less what MLS is doing now.
The Beckham method of instant growth fails more often than it works - for every Pibe there are two or three Lothars. The slow growth method is not as exciting, but is lower risk and has a stronger chance of success. Patience, my friends.

[BigKris]

I think what it means for us is we get to see Dema take out Becks with a late tackle. I wonder how marketable the pretty-boy is with his leg in a heel-to-hip cast?

[JoseP]

I think what it means for us is we get to see Dema take out Becks with a late tackle. I wonder how marketable the pretty-boy is with his leg in a heel-to-hip cast?

I think when Beck gets signed there will be new Beckham rule - don't touch.

[Sundevil9]

This 'Beckham Rule' seems to be MLS just putting on paper the existing unofficial wink-and-a-nudge rules regarding overpayment of players. Or that they'll get a check from the league, and a check from the team, as opposed to a check from the league, a check from a local restaurant, a check from Honda, a check from adidas....

What does it mean for DC? Could be an opening to bring someone in when Jamie looks to hang it up. It'll also change what kind of import a team brings in. In the past its been a guy in his mid to late 30's looking to play out the last two years or so of his career. A little extra money may make MLS more attractive for a younger thirtysomething player, especially if a team will offer multiple years, as more and more Euro clubs don't offer multi-year deals to the older guys.

[Sundevil9]

So wait, LA with Landon and Becks?

Could this be the revival of the WUSA?

:D

[CHICO13]

As more teams get SSS and become self sufficient it could work as a short term shot in the arm for the league. It's by no means a long term fix. Last thing this league needs is a NY Yankee type mentality where the bigger market teams are outspending the smaller ones. Like someone said earlier...patience.

[Pints]

A little extra money may make MLS more attractive for a younger thirtysomething player, especially if a team will offer multiple years, as more and more Euro clubs don't offer multi-year deals to the older guys.

But until MLS is involved in competition likes UEFA Cup, CL, or even Copa Libertadores on a regular basis, why in the hell would someone come from a league that is involved to one that isn't? I think alot of foreign players are in the clubs they are, not only for the money, but also if not in some cases mainly for the ability to play on a broader stage. MLS offers nothing even close to that. I think until that happens on a regular basis this "Beckham rule thing" is a joke.

[BadLlama]

I don't think it's a bad idea in theory. Attendance has stagnated in part because of a lack of marquee names. Giving a salary cap exemption to each team for one could draw more people, both at home and on the road. Technically, we already have one in Adu.


It's a good idea, though I don't think it should be named the "Beckham rule" until anyone can actually afford him.

More importantly though, I see the consideration of this rule as the first step to ending single entity in MLS. This is a good sign as it signifies a level of confidence in our stability.

For now, a better idea (or one to be implemented in conjunction with the beckham rule) would be to allow teams to form academies and developmental programs that they have direct ownership of. It's very unattractive (financially and tactically) to start a youth development program knowing the players you develop (if they stay in the league) will sign with MLS and not your team and may end up halfway across the country playing against you. Ownership of youth development programs has several benefits in one package:
-local footprint. you raise your profile within the community and expand your fanbase by having people directly invested in the franchise.
-player pool for the future..this is pretty self-explanatory and will have a more permanent and lasting effect on the team and the community by developing homegrown talent over the long run rather than bringing in a guy every year to parade around.
-revenue from player sales...even the kids we decide not to keep when they grow up will benefit the franchise through their sale (domestically or abroad).


I can go on but suffice it to say I think it's an idea worth looking in to. Even in a superclub like Madrid, local boys like Raul are just as big an impact as the Beckham's they sign.

[TEConnor]

The true danger of a "Beckham" type rule is that it will not actually be implemented. That is to say that if LA brings in an overpaid guy like Beckham, will they actually have to ditch their other overpaid player in Landiecakes? Technically you would have two superstars at higher than max salary. So, this should not be called the Beckham rule, rather the "LA wants to spend a lot of money on salaries, so lets just let them but make up a fictitious concept that will never be enforced anyway" rule.

To follow up, we all know that the MLS salary cap has been junk since day 1, as the proceedings of the lawsuit revealed (Jorge Campos, anyone?). We all know that currently there is no salary cap. And we all know that DC are currently over the cap (effectively, though not technically). So what the hell does it matter anyway? I just wish MLS would do something to foster credibility on this front (they've improved in other "rules" areas). I say, just raise the max salary on an individual player but keep the total cap roughly the same. Hence, we could see an entire team composed of just David Beckham. Or 11 mini-Beckhams.

Cheers,
Tim

[BadLlama]

You never know. Pele, while he definitely made a good amount of money here, didn't come to play here for the money. He, probably, could have made as much elsewhere as he did in this country. He came here in hopes making soccer more popular in the US.

Sometimes players give something back to the sport.


Actually he did come for the money as he'd been recently ruined by a series of bad business decisions. As for Beck's coming anytime soon...I think we should look at other celebrity players before taking a shot at him. Everyone believes LA would be the natural destination for him but remember that it wasn't until he moved to an adidas team that he made that $95mil deal with the brand. Moving to a lesser league to a wear a competitor's logo on the pitch would not sit well with the adidas brass. This is a big deal, as he makes more money through adidas than from Madrid.

[Lanky134]

But until MLS is involved in competition likes UEFA Cup, CL, or even Copa Libertadores on a regular basis, why in the hell would someone come from a league that is involved to one that isn't? I think alot of foreign players are in the clubs they are, not only for the money, but also if not in some cases mainly for the ability to play on a broader stage. MLS offers nothing even close to that. I think until that happens on a regular basis this "Beckham rule thing" is a joke.
Exactly. There's little incentive for a marquee player in their prime to come here. As a result, the league would most likely be able to attract players at the tail end of their career, thus bringing us back to where the league started from. You also then run into the possibilities of pandering to local ethnic markets, and you get another situation like LA had with Bo, or worse, what we had when we traded RDA.

[Sundevil9]

Actually he did come for the money as he'd been recently ruined by a series of bad business decisions. As for Beck's coming anytime soon...I think we should look at other celebrity players before taking a shot at him. Everyone believes LA would be the natural destination for him but remember that it wasn't until he moved to an adidas team that he made that $95mil deal with the brand. Moving to a lesser league to a wear a competitor's logo on the pitch would not sit well with the adidas brass. This is a big deal, as he makes more money through adidas than from Madrid.

But don't the Gals (and the remaining holdouts) go to adidas gear next year?