By Paul Kennedy
Now that David Beckham has ended his playing career, attention has turned to his post-retirement plans. Beckham’s plans have become the MLS expansion story du jour.
What we know is that as part of his agreement with MLS when he signed with the LA Galaxy in 2007, he has the option to purchase an MLS expansion team for $25 million.
A $25 million fee was in the range of what an MLS team went for in 2007, but the value of MLS expansion rights have gone up since then so it is a good deal for Beckham.
The two conditions we know of are: (1) the option is to purchase an expansion team — not an existing team; (2) and it is for any market except for New York (where MLS could get $100 million for the new team it hopes to announce in the next month).
“There have been discussions with his advisers, his management, preliminary discussions,” MLS executive vice president of communications Dan Courtemanche told Reuters.
The market most often mentioned is Miami.
“It is one of many markets that has been mentioned,” Courtemanche added, “so have other markets. At some point in time he will exercise that option and we can go through the process of making sure it is the perfect fit for David and Major League Soccer but we are not there yet.”
