Who needs tickets?

David Beckham recently signed a jaw-dropping $250 million contract for five years with the L.A. Galaxy. I hate math, but I was curious to find out Beckham’s hourly wage and calculated it based on a 365-day calendar. Too much time on my hands, you say. Maybe, but here’s the breakdown on Beckham’s salary: $50 million per year, $4,166,667 per month, $134,409 per day, $5600 per hour, $93 per minute and $1.50 per second.

When told Beckham will make over $5,000 an hour, a jealous colleague of mine grudgingly responded, “Good for him.” 

This same jealous colleague, a native of Costa Rica and a diehard “futbol” fan, said the highest paid players in his country earn between 5K - 7K USD per month.

Is it possible that better soccer players in the world earn a bit less? You bet your minimum wage. I’m no soccer guru, but I’m smart enough to know that Beckham is passed his prime, that the glory days at Manchester United are over and out.

Obviously, the Galaxy is buying more than ability; they’re buying an image. An image Major League Soccer hopes will broaden its appeal in the United States. It’s true, over the last decade, soccer has grown by leaps and bounds in the U.S. When I was a kid, soccer leagues were virtually nonexistent. I was raised on baseball and basketball, and my heroes were Ken Griffey Jr. and Michael Jordan. In fact, I thought kickball was soccer. These days, little league and high school soccer are common, and kids even take it to the street.

Of the major sports in America, the world’s most popular sport still trails the big three: baseball, football and basketball, but Beckham could change that. The Englishman will become the poster child of American soccer.

Beckham is linked to glamour and glamour will be linked to soccer in the U.S. People, especially young men and women, will begin to associate American soccer with sex-appeal, movie star marketability, a hot wife, and of course the killer income. Beckham could revolutionize the sport in the U.S., or at the very least, give MLS the street cred it lacks among its European and South American counterparts. If any of this happens, he will have been worth every single penny. Okay, well almost.

To catch David Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy next season, check out the Tickets of America page for MLS soccer tickets.