If you wanna be my lover...

Pulitzer Prize winning author Norman Mailer made an interesting point in comparing the economics of literature and professional sports in a New York Times interview this past winter. In short, Mailer's point was that although many complain about the astronomical salaries of today's professional athletes, at least the highest paid sports stars tend to be more talented than their peers are. In the world of authors, the opposite is true.

While there is probably a general agreement about the great writer's observation, this trend may not continue in the near future. In a disturbing sign about the future of the professional sports world, the Spanish soccer club Real Madrid will pay between 17.5 and 24.5 million British pounds as a transfer fee for the rights to Manchester United's David Beckham.

As the captain of the England's national team, Beckham is clearly an outstanding soccer player, but there is a catch in Real Madrid?s efforts to obtain him: The Spanish club simply does not need Beckham right now.

With three former world players of the year in Zinedine Zidane of France, Ronaldo of Brazil and Luis Figo of Portugal, the 28-year old Beckham may not start regularly in the midfield next season. It seems clear that Real Madrid acquired Beckham more for his ability to sell shirts than to score goals.

Beckham may be the most visible soccer player in the world with his marriage to Posh Spice of the Spice Girls and his estimated $334.5 million in endorsement earnings, but maybe the most important fact of his celebrity is his extreme popularity in the far east. With Real Madrid already owning the Latin American and Arab markets--Zidane has Algerian heritage--Beckham's addition now adds the Asian market to Real's global empire.

Before the acquisition, Manchester United, Real Madrid's only real rival in world popularity, was far ahead of Real Madrid in developing business in Asia, but with Beckham The Times of London reports that almost five million of Manchester United's 16.6 million Asian fans will become Real Madrid's over night. There seems to be no limit to Beckham's popularity in Asia, as he endorses everything from beauty products to oil on billboards throughout the region.

"Kids don't think twice about paying $100.00 for a shirt," a sales woman at Manchester United's store in Hanoi said to The New York Times. Real claims that it gained 14 million British pounds in sales after Zidane signed, and expects an even bigger increase after Beckham arrives.

Beckham's story will hardly be discussed in the United States because of the lack of popularity of soccer in America, but it could have profound effects on how professional sports works in the world?s only super-power.

While professional athletes in contemporary America are criticized for only playing for money, most professional teams are viewed in the public as operating solely to achieve success in the form of championships. Because the teams that win the most generally generate the most revenue, most team executives make player personal decisions based on how many wins, rather than how much revenue, an individual will help the team produce. It is rare that fans complain that a team only made a decision for monetary purposes.

But Real Madrid's decision is purely monetary, as it is doubtful that Beckham will help Real Madrid win more games. If Real Madrid is successful in generating more profits without more wins, this could have large effects on America's professional sports teams.

Just contemplate the following scenario:

An NBA team has the opportunity to sign one of two players. One is clearly more talented, but plays a boring brand of basketball and is from a small American state like New Mexico. The other player is from the relatively untapped market of Brazil and is extremely popular. Does the team go after the player that will help win more games, or the player that will bring a larger market?

Although this is far from a perfect analogy to the Beckham experiment because Real Madrid is not deciding between the English star and a less talented player, the success of the Beckham experiment will still have a less than minor role in determining the outcome of the plausible situation above. In my heart of hearts I hope Real Madrid's acquisition of Beckham leads to less revenue and success for the club, though that appears highly unlikely. I just hope American sports' main focus continues to be on winning rather than profit.

To be fair about the situation, Manchester United ridded themselves of Beckham in hopes of winning more games. Although Manchester United's manager Alex Ferguson's old-school approach to the game did not work well with Beckham's rock-star status, many of the reasons that the United's owners agreed with Ferguson to transfer Beckham was for greater opportunities to win. With the added funds in Beckham?s departure, the club will try to add three prestigious players to augment Ferguson?s 4-2-3-1 formation, a tactic that Beckham?s strengths did not compliment.

In short, the United is trying to duplicate what the Seattle Mariners did when they lost Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey, Jr. More than most Americans realize, the future of how professional sports teams operate lies in the fates of the Manchester United and Real Madrid over the next few seasons. Let us all hope United comes out ahead in the Beckham move.

Robert Samuel is a Trinity junior and sports managing editor. His column appears weekly over the summer.