Is Beckham a Trick or Treat for LA Galaxy? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

UEFA president Michel Platini has said:

“If results are fixed in advance, football has no further reason to exist”

A key component of sport, and perhaps the most essential, is the uncertainty of outcome. Without this, there is no competition, no entertainment and no value in sport whatsoever. It is for the same reason that performance-enhancing drugs are completely prohibited – to preserve healthy competition and to ensure that one competitor is not given an advantage of which the other is deprived.

Perhaps the most famous occasion of match-fixing was in Italy in 2006 where several prestigious European clubs brought the football world to a standstill. Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina, SS Lazio and Reggina were found guilty of influencing the football authorities on the appointment of referees to certain games.

It cannot be denied that cheating in sport is completely unacceptable. Punishment for cheating should be severe and should act as a deterrent to prevent future offenses from occurring. However, is the current punishment ruthless enough? Evidently not.

In the summer of 2006 (just weeks after the scandal in Italy came out), the Italian national team won the FIFA World Cup. Many questioned whether Italy should have been allowed to participate in the tournament altogether in light of the revelations on match-fixing in the country.

AC Milan was originally barred from entering the 2006-2007 UEFA Champions League tournament as a result of the scandal. On appeal they were allowed to enter the competition at the Third Qualifying Round stage. They went on to win the tournament that season.

Juventus was forcibly relegated from Serie A to Serie B in Italy. They comfortably won Serie B the next season and have been competing at the top of Serie A ever since. They are also participating in the Champions League again and narrowly went out of the competition in the first knockout round stage.

Fiorentina was entitled to remain in Serie A but were docked 15 points, an amount that would supposedly have the effect of preventing them from qualifying for a European cup the next season. They ultimately finished in sixth place and qualified for the UEFA Cup.

It is clear that the punishments handed out were far too soft and lenient. The above examples merely indicate to any person considering match fixing that it is almost worth the risk of attempting to cheat. If they get away with it, then the outcome is very favorable. If they get caught, the consequences are not going to be too severe. The risk of getting caught does not necessarily outweigh the benefit of getting away with cheating.

The penalties inflicted on persons who cheat in this way need to be far more serious. The outcome must be that the guilty party is completely crippled as a result of the wrongdoing. Are punishments not handed out to deter others from future and similar misconduct? The object of deterrence is not achieved where the outcome of a punishment is that the offending party is not really punished.

In 2005 UEFA said it was planning to implement betting legislation to prevent all players, management and referees from gambling on future games. Furthermore, after this week’s announcement UEFA has said it is launching a gambling investigation unit next season, monitoring 27,000 European matches in both the first and second divisions of each national association.

It is clear however that the problem lies not in detecting where/when match-fixing occurs, but in the punishment that results when it has been established that match fixing took place. Punish the cheating party brutally and ruthlessly, and others will be scared to do the same.

Match-Fixing Rears Its Ugly Head Again in Soccer from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

His original move to LA Galaxy from Real Madrid was seen as a revelation for the MLS. Before his arrival, 250,000 ‘Beckham’ jerseys were sold, prompting fanfare and worldwide interest in the Galaxy and the MLS. Attendances jumped, and US soccer benefited from his signature. The $250 million, 5 year deal, which included a mountain of sponsorship signed 2 years ago would have seen him signed through to the age of 37. Last season, despite David being a fantastic player, the LA Galaxy struggled, even with other ex-premier league star, Able Xavier, on their team they failed to make the playoffs.

So, being a world class player and one of the most marketable sportspeople in the world, why would LA want to sell him? Firstly, no team wants a player who doesn’t want to play for them. While I’m sure if the transfer falls through David will still give his best, there is no point LA stopping this deal. Galaxy has already made back the money they invested in David, so there would be no loss in him moving on. In terms of a team point of view, by releasing him the team could bring in another star under what was ironically known as ‘The Beckham Rule’, where only a portion of a marquee signing’s salary falls under the cap. A team is allowed 2 marquee players, so even without Beckham, $400,000 is freed for additional players.

So why wouldn’t they want to sell him? With David at the Galaxy the team is valued at about $100 million. This would fall by almost half, jeopardizing sponsorship for the club. Gate attendances would drop, merchandise sales lost. The impact would take some shine off the glamor club. Not to mention it may be difficult attracting a player of Beckham’s talent to replace him.

Taking a deeper look into his lucrative contract, Beckham may see some of those big bucks lost. Breaking it down at $50M a season, $10M is in his performance contract, $10M in merchandise sales, $20M in sponsorship and the last $10M in profit sharing from Galaxy. As you can probably tell $30M of that will be wiped instantly, however a move to Milan may see a similar performance contract and merchandise sales should still be in the same vicinity, as the Beckham brand is global. In terms of sponsorship, Beckham’s deals should stay relatively unaffected as they are worldwide companies. Any shortfalls of US specific marketing bonuses may be made up by new sponsors in Italy.  Italy, the home of fashion, presents a lot of opportunities. Despite David’s long list of sponsors, he still has some room for more. Fine living and luxury items such as fashion and cars are industries in which David may sign up with in Italy.

Obviously the move isn’t about money.  It’s about fulfilling his dream of trying to win a World Cup, and 2010 will most likely be his last chance. Galaxy have already dismissed AC’s first bid of between $10 and $20m, telling them to increase it. I guess time will tell whether they will.

Beckham On The Move? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Don’t worry, Beckham is only leaving North America to play soccer for several months.  He has every intention of coming back to LA next season.  The Major League Soccer (MLS) season is almost over and Beckham would only be on loan from January until the conclusion of the Italian league.  After the MLS season concluded last year, he went to London and trained with Arsenal FC, but he never officially played on the team.

The soccer season overseas is much longer and constant compared to the MLS.  Players only get a month or two off at most when they play in leagues like the EPL or Serie A in Italy.  The MLS is relatively shorter. The fact that Beckham will now get two salaries amongst his many endorsement deals does not hurt either. As if Becks and Posh Spice need the added income.

Beckham has decided to keep up his skills and continue playing overseas to stay in top shape.  This decision was influenced by his desire to continue playing Internationally for England in the next world cup.  Although Beckham lost his long tenured captaincy from the national team last season, he still wants to continue playing International soccer.  If the deal goes through with AC Milan, Beckham will join Brazilian stars KaKa and the newly acquired Ronaldinho, along with Italians Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso.  This star studded team will certainly challenge Becks in training and will only get him better and ready to play Internationally and in the MLS season.

Beckham came to the Los Angeles Galaxy two seasons ago (2007) to help jump start soccer in America.  Although he was injured and did not play as much as he would have liked to his inaugural season, Beckham had a great second season showing off his accuracy with dazzling free kicks and goals from midfield…many of which ended up on Sportscenter the following morning.

Despite Beckham and others efforts, soccer still has yet to break through as one of the top sports in the US.  However, Beckham has certainly increased domestic interest in watching and participating in the sport.  Having Beckham playing in Italy or wherever he may decide, can only be beneficial for the future of American soccer.  With David’s name currently attached to American “futbol” and him playing overseas, the MLS could be seeing added attention and press.  Having Beckham participate in two leagues simultaneously could also persuade other great international players to do the same, bringing more talent to the MLS, thus making American soccer and the MLS more competitive with other countries and leagues Internationally.

Soccer has the potential to be the next big sport in America.  Soccer is world renown and has only increased in popularity as America has become more diverse and multicultural.  Maybe it is time to become a soccer agent.

Is Beckham Leaving America Already? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules