Is David Beckham the MLS savior?

Should David Beckham be labeled as a gifted player or as a face behind the system to make soccer popular in the United States?

Beckham was brought over from the club Real Madrid in 2007 and a month after the conclusion of Beckham's Real Madrid career, Forbes magazine reported that he had been the party primarily responsible for the team's huge increase in merchandise sales, a total reported to top $600 million US during Beckham's four years at the club. Ok so it’s safe to say at this point that the kid is 100% marketable, no wonder he is doing underwear ads, and that it might be better or safe to build a marketing plan around the image of David Beckham than his actual playing skills.

Let’s compare Beckham’s salary of $250 millions to Major League Baseball Alex Rodriguez’s salary of $275 millions, we can conclude that they both should be extremely good athletes and the best at what they do and be at the same level in their respective sport, I guess, right? I know I am comparing baseball to soccer but we can compare and fit these types of players into one category like for example Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.

But any who if we investigate further in to Alex Rodriguez production numbers or stats we can justify his salary at some point. For example if Alex Rodriguez keeps his production as he is, hitting a minimum of 42 home runs per season in 6 years he should be breaking Barry Bonds All Time Home run record of 762. In Beckham’s case in 6 years he should be where? How many assists, goals or titles? Oh well only time will tell. So, Is Beckham good for the sport because of his incredible ability to score goals or to be the ultimate playmaker, or is he the ultimate Marketing Mix tool?

emh