David Beckham illustrates yet again why he is probably a better businessman than he ever was a footballer by his savvy returns on his own personal branding and endorsements. The Beckham Brand model is a classic study of sports brand management that has inspired a generation.
Brand Beckham earns $23.8m in a year
Herald Scotland | 7 October 2013
David Beckham has received a £14.1 million (AU$23.8m) pay package from a company set up to cash in on his worldwide fame.
Annual accounts for 2012 filed by Footwork Productions show it rewarded its highest paid director, understood to be the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star, with the sum equivalent to more than £270,000 a week.
That was up 6% from the £13.28m paid out in 2011.
The accounts show the business took in £16.5m of turnover across 2012, an increase of almost 8% from the £15.3m recorded in the prior year.
Beckham, who concentrates on his name – part of the so-called Brand Beckham – and image rights more than doubled pre-tax profits from £167,918 to £390,539 in a year when he played in the US for the LA Galaxy.
Writing in the accounts the Footwork Productions directors said they were “satisfied” with how the business had performed in the year.
They expect there to be a “sustained level of endorsement income” across 2013 and said they planned to continue exploiting all image opportunities which will be beneficial to the overall strategy of the company.
The other directors at Footwork Productions are listed as sports lawyer Andrew Thompson and Anthony Adams, Beckham’s father-in-law. His wife Victoria is company secretary.
Beckham, 38, retired from football in May, after a two-decade career that included league title wins in four countries and 115 England caps.
Do you believe Beckham can continue to leverage his brand now that he has retired?
©2013 Herald Scotland | This article first appeared in the Herald Scotland on on 7 October 2013.