The World Cup is in full swing, so what better time to talk soccer? In the U.S., football and basketball players are everywhere—in commercials and on clothing and other merchandise—but what about soccer stars? Although soccer is still not the number one sport in America, it is top dog in much of the world which means soccer stars rake in the big bucks with endorsement deals. Here, 5 of the most well known soccer players who get paid to endorse products.
David Beckham
Beckham is arguably the most famous soccer player out there, even after retirement, so it’s no wonder that he was paid something like 150 million dollars to endorse Adidas. And he looked so good doing it.
Beckham has also endorsed Motorola, Pepsi, and Gillette, among other brands.
Clint Dempsey
Playing for the Seattle (my hometown!) Sounders, Dempsey is one of the hottest names in soccer today. Dempsey’s most interesting endorsement is with Modelo Especial—athletes do not often associate with alcohol partners!
Cristiano Ronaldo
This big name in soccer—err, football I should say—has been the face of Castrol, Nike, and Konami, banking his earnings around 21 million dollars from endorsements alone.
Neymar
The Brazilian forward who is known by the single name “Neymar,” has contracts with Castrol, Red Bull, Volkswagen, and Panasonic. Most notably, however, reports have claimed that Neymar has an 11-year deal with Nike, which pays out to the tune of one million dollars per year.
Wayne Rooney
British forward Rooney can be kind of controversial, but his deal with Nike remains intact. For wearing Nike Hypervenom Phantom boots, Rooney is paid about 1.6 million a year. I would take that deal.
That is a lot of money being passed around to these awesome guys. Now is the time to celebrate soccer! Happy World Cup!
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David Beckham: Photo Works / Shutterstock.com; Clint Dempsey: Photo Works / Shutterstock.com; Cristiano Ronaldo: Madridismo.Org / Shutterstock.com; Neymar: Jefferson Bernardes / Shutterstock.com; Wayne Rooney: Kostas Koutsaftikis / Shutterstock.com