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David Beckham is one of the most iconic soccer players of his generation and was one of the most famous athletes on the planet in his prime. He racked up hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of his career, and he used some of that money to get a bit of security thanks to the massive insurance policy he took out in 2006 to protect his most valuable asset: his legs.
Beckham made his debut with Manchester United in 1992 at the age of 17, which marked the start of an illustrious career where he won six Premier League titles, appeared in 115 games for England’s national team, and experienced success in La Liga, Serie A, and the MLS.
Beckham obviously made a name for himself with his stellar play, but he also capitalized on his dashing good looks and business savvy; after all, we’re talking about a guy who had a movie named after him, was the face of a number of advertising campaigns, married a member of the Spice Girls, and eventually bought his own soccer team in the form of Inter Miami (where Lionel Messi now plays).
While he managed to avoid any major physical setbacks over the course of a soccer career that spanned two decades, he also didn’t take any chances thanks to the unconventional move he pulled in 2006.
The Story Behind David Beckham Insuring His Legs
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Most normal people will never feel the urge to go out of their way to insure specific parts of their body, but there are a number of athletes, musicians, and actors who’ve done exactly that.
That includes Beckham, who was playing for Real Madrid in 2006 when he linked up with Lloyd’s of London to secure a massive insurance policy to the tune of £100 million (which was around $195 million at the time). The legs he used to get around the soccer pitch were understandably the focal point, but it also included language that protected his face thanks to the commercial opportunities it allowed him to earn.
At the time, the insurance policy was virtually unprecedented in the world of sports. Plenty of people were surprised by the move, it undoubtedly made sense; he was making a laughable amount of money on a yearly basis at the time, so it was hard to blame him for dreaming up a plan to keep the money flowing if something happened to him,
Before the policy was finalized, Lloyd’s of London consulted with orthopedic surgeons, physiotherapists, and other medical experts to attempt to figure out a fair value, and the final number highlights just how big Beckham (and his legs and face) were back in the day.
The craziest part of this (at least to me, a guy living on a budget in NYC) is the policy required Beckham to shell out $1.5 million on an annual basis to keep it active. Some people would be lucky to earn that much over the course of their entire career, but that’s how much he was willing to pay each year to make sure he had something to fall back on if his was derailed.
While Beckham (thankfully) never had to cash it in, he did pretty well for himself thanks in no small part to the body parts he protected, as Beckham currently has an estimated net worth of $450 million.