David Beckham's Genius Business Decision That Ended Up Making Him $500M

David Beckham has reemerged in the headlines after Netflix Inc NFLX released a new documentary series about Beckham and his wife, Victoria Beckham. Beckham was once one of the world’s best soccer players, leading teams like Manchester United, Real Madrid and more. 

Beckham’s Business Brain: The sports world was shocked in 2007 when Beckham left Real Madrid, one of the premier teams in Europe, to join the LA Galaxy of MLS. At the time, the MLS was still very small compared to other soccer leagues around the world, so many thought it was questionable for Beckham to play in the MLS while he was still in his athletic prime.

But this is where Beckham’s business savviness came into play. When Beckham joined the LA Galaxy, the MLS was only 10 years old. His contract came with an option to buy an expansion franchise for $25 million. Beckham retired in 2013 and exercised his option the following year, establishing Inter Miami. 

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Andrew Petcash, the founder of Profluence Sports, outlined Beckham’s incredible story in a thread on X.com. Petcash has grown a substantial following on X.com by making interesting threads related to athletes' finances. He founded Profluence as a platform dedicated to aggregating insights, content and data about the future of sports and money. 

Now, Inter Miami is worth more than $500 million and has one of the best players in the world, Lionel Messi, on its roster. The MLS has experienced dramatic growth in the United States since Beckham came in 2007, in part because he paved the way for other major soccer stars like Messi to come to the MLS.

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Photo: Yahoo Pressebilder on Flickr