Beckham Brings $13.3 To Galaxy Already

The Los Angeles Galaxy have reported an additional $13.3 million in revenue since the announcement of David Beckham's switch to the side. That covers his salary for about half of his 5-year deal, worth $5.5 million annually. "We've already made our money back," said Tim Leiweke of AEG, owners of the Galaxy. "We were never worried about our financial commitment."

Other interesting facts:

- Galaxy Assistant General Manager Tom Payne said he expects ticket revenue to double this season to about $10 million.
- New sponsors include Delta Airlines Inc. and AutoTrader.com Inc. Sponsorship sales are expected to triple from last year to about $10 million.
- John Skipper, ESPN's executive vice president of content, says the TV audience for Galaxy games will rise between 25-50% from the MLS average of 197,000 U.S. households last season.
- Adidas' sales of MLS-related products may also triple, with half of that from Beckham-related merchandise, said Chris McGuire, vice president of marketing - U.S. "Beckham will create a global demand for MLS products, which didn't really exist before," McGuire said.