How David Beckham Keeps Scoring Huge Financial Deals

According to the Sunday Times recently published Rich List for 2022, David and his wife Victoria Beckham are worth £380 million. The list, which is widely regarded as one of the most authoritative compendiums of wealthy Britons, takes an exhaustive look at its subject's financial lives. It's a source of keen interest throughout the UK, where extreme wealth like Beckham's is not always celebrated the same way as it is in the US.

Changing the endorsement game for elite soccer players

David Beckham is widely known as a celebrated ex-soccer player, who played for Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan, LA Galaxy, and Paris St. German and captained the England national team over 120 times in an illustrious career. However, also he set the new financial standards for Premier League soccer players in the UK. He paved the way for soccer stars becoming celebrities in their own rights and landing extravagant endorsement deals. While Beckham was undoubtedly a supremely talented soccer player, from the generation before Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, he was never as gifted a player as they are. However, the systematic way he went about building his financial empire undoubtedly paved the way for the subsequent billion-dollar empires that Messi and Ronaldo have enjoyed. 

Simon Fuller and XIX Entertainment

A big chunk of the credit has to go to Beckham's former business partner and manager, Simon Fuller, whom Beckham bought out from his 33% stake in their business for around $50 million in 2019. The former Spice Girls manager and his XIX Entertainment group were the masterminds behind the branding of Beckham back in the 1990s when still a player at Manchester United. They leveraged his good looks and turned him into a fashion and pop culture icon, landing him a string of lucrative endorsements. Fuller is still involved in David's wife and former Victoria Spice Girl, Beckham’s fashion label.

25 Years of endorsements

Much of the Beckham’s recent nearly half a billion net worth came from the sale of a £200 million ($246 million) controlling stake in their empire. The deal with Authentic Brands Group is intended to boost their earnings in the US. Amongst David Beckham’s lucrative endorsement deals are/have been:

• Adidas: In 2003 Beckham penned a lifetime deal with Adidas for £115 million ($160 million), which at the time, was one of the biggest sponsorship deals in sport. 

• Tudor: Beckham has a long-established endorsement deal with watchmakers Breitling who were bought out by Tudor. No firm figures are available from the deal. 

• Haig Club: Becks helped create the whiskey brand Haig Club in 2014. His stake in the business is estimated to be worth £50 million ($61.5 million)

• Emporio Armani: At the height of his Posh/Becks fame in the early noughts, Beckham was seen on massive billboards throughout the UK, toned, tanned, and shirtless in Armani underwear, for which he received $20 million.

• Gillette: One of Beck’s earlier deals was with razor manufacturer Gillette for which he was paid £3 million (around $4 million) in 2007. He walked away from the deal after it was reported he wanted to sign a profit share arrangement for deals going forward.

• Konami: Japanese video game maker signed Beckam as a PES ambassador in 2017 on a long-term contract. No value for the deal has been disclosed.

• Pepsi: Beckham’s deal with Pepsi stretches way back to 1998. It was worth £2 million (approx $2.75 million) a year back then and lasted a decade.

• Kent & Curwen: In 2015 upscale fashion house Kent and Curwen relaunched with Becks as their chief model and ambassador. However, the company reportedly lost around $22 million and Becks, who has a stake in the brand, walked away.

• Sainsbury’s: UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s signed on Beckam in 2015 for close to $5 million and sells his deodorant through them

• Jaguar: It seems like a good fit — an iconic British car company with an iconic British sports hero. The relationship began in 2014, and focused on the Chinese market, though no figures were released.

• H&M: Beckham ended his association with affordable Swedish fashion retailer H&M in 2016, though no details of the details are available. 

Other brands Beckham has been involved with include: L’Oreal’s Biotherm Homme, Signature Fragrances (“The Classic”, “Reinvented,” “The Essence,” “Beyond” and “Beyond Forever.”

Victoria Beckham's faltering fashion line

Wife Victoria has also been getting aboard the Beckham brandwagon with previous endorsements from Range Rover Evoque, Estatée Lauder, and Target. However, her fashion empire continues to stutter. In 2020 it showed losses of around $10 million, meaning it had racked up total losses of close to $50 million over the previous three years. 

Inter Miami FC and the Qatar World Cup: High-stakes gambles

Beckham is also the figurehead and one of the chief owners of Inter Miami FC. He was able to start the franchise at a subsidized rate of $25 million after agreeing to play for LA Galaxy in the MLS towards the end of his career. 

Controversially, Beckham also signed a contract believed to be worth $277 million in 2021 to be the face of the Qatar World Cup. The Ex-England Captain’s stake is believed to be worth around $18 million per year for the next decade to be the country’s global ambassador. The country has a bad human rights record, particularly when it comes to women and gay rights. 

Another sporting tie-in is Beckham’s affiliation with fitness chain P45 for his soccer-inspired DB45 devised with Hollywood trainer Gunnar Peterson, though no financial information about the deal is available. 

A family affair

The Beckham’s four children also have a heavy social media presence. Their eldest, Brooklyn, recently married American actress and Wendy’s fast food heiress, Nicola Pelz, whose father, Nelson Pelz is worth $1.6 billion. Like most high-net-worth celebrities the Beckham’s also own a number of pricey real estate holdings.

Conclusion

David Beckham has been a groundbreaking figure in the world of sports endorsement deals since he first burst on the scene as the famed "Class of '92" at Manchester United. Most of his endorsement deals have been centered around his profile in Europe. Should Inter Miami F.C. attain the success he hopes for, attracting world-class talent, it could prove his most lucrative affiliation yet. In the process, it would mark a huge triumph for him — success in the elusive US Sports market.