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David Beckham the global brand carries considerably more value than David Beckham the soccer star, as his lucrative new deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy underlines.

This has been the case for several years, as Beckham's striking good looks, likeable personality and celebrity lifestyle have propelled him into one of the sports world's premier pitchmen for such global marketers as adidas, Gillette, Pepsi and Motorola. Such is his name value that Real Madrid, his current team, recovered its entire transfer fee of £20-million ($45.8-million Canadian at current rates) from jersey sales in his first season.

But at 31, Beckham's athletic skills have been in decline. He was dropped from the English national team and has turned into a benchwarmer in Madrid, which could have impaired his value to sports marketers. Sooner or later, they would start looking for younger, flashier superstars to promote their images.

Hence, the brilliance of his move to the Galaxy and the hugely important U.S. market, not for soccer but for the sale of brand-name products. In Major League Soccer, Beckham will reign as a glittering star once again in a lesser league that has almost no household names known beyond their own households. In Los Angeles, he and his wife, Victoria, a former Spice Girl music star and budding fashion designer, will fit in easily amid the Hollywood glitz and glamour. And his major corporate clients will cash in on the publicity windfall.

That's really what Beckham's signing is all about, and why neither the Galaxy nor the league is taking a huge financial risk.

It's Beckham's own management people, led by Simon Fuller, the promotional genius behind the Spice Girls and the Pop Idol television phenomenon, with its American Idol, Canadian Idol and other spinoffs, who have put the word out that Beckham is becoming the world's best-paid athlete, at $250-million (U.S.) for five years.

Cut through the thick fog of hype, though, and it's clear that Beckham will be making no more than $10-million a year for playing soccer. That's in line with what he would make in Europe and close to 10 times bigger than the combined salaries for most of Major League Soccer's 13 teams. But the real value of the deal depends on whether his name will put fannies in the seats, bring in rich foreign television deals, merchandising and other revenues for MLS and sell more razors, sporting goods, soft drinks and cellphones to U.S. consumers.

The contract terms have not been divulged, but leaks indicate that Beckham will get pieces of the entire Galaxy and some of the MLS pie, including a share of increased merchandise, TV rights and ticket sales. A profit-sharing arrangement with the Galaxy and its parent, Anschutz Entertainment Group, could bring him up to $10-million annually. But the majority of his income will stem from endorsements and image rights, much as it does now. The total off-field earnings may turn out to be lower than the nearly $40-million he raked in last year while playing in Europe.

"Most of the value is from David's worldwide endorsements," MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis told reporters last week. "There are a lot of commercial elements in our deal with him — the sale of jerseys and those types of things — but when you are talking about the Beckham brand, where most of his revenue-earning opportunities are, it's independent of the league."

MLS will cover $400,000 of his playing salary. Adidas, which sponsors both Beckham and the league and anticipates a big boost in apparel and boot sales, is reportedly sharing the rest of the cost with AEG.

The deal makes sense for AEG, which also owns two other MLS franchises and recently sold another two. The more equity AEG can create in the league itself through the marketing of Beckham, the more valuable its holdings become and the better its chances of recouping its heavy investment. The company also owns the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League, a large chain of cinemas and a Hollywood film company and controls or manages a growing number of sports and concert venues and other assets. And it's a partner with Beckham in soccer academies for aspiring young players, a profitable business it would like to expand worldwide. AEG is part of a bigger empire owned by Philip Anschutz, who made his first billions in real estate, railways and telecommunications.

"They are a multiplatform company," sports marketing expert Brad Robins said. "AEG must have calculated that adding him as a corporate asset will pay off because of all the different properties where they can take advantage of his high profile."