The dividend was fuelled by Beckham's appearances in about a dozen ad campaigns across this summer's tournament in the US, working with brands including Lenovo, McDonald's, Bank of America, Verizon and PepsiCo's crisps brand Lay's. The World Cup work helped to fuel a record year for DRJB Holdings, the commercial company for Beckham's brands business, where revenues surged by a fifth to $110.5m last year, from $92.3m in 2024. Pre-tax profits also climbed to a record $65.7m, a 46% increase on 2024.
Beckham's business empire, DRJB Holdings, paid out $51.1m to shareholders last year, compared with $53m the previous year. The company is jointly owned by Authentic Brands Group and Footwork Productions, controlled by David Beckham. Ahead of this year's World Cup, the company secured partnerships including a multi-year deal with Bank of America, where Beckham became an ambassador for its global sports programme.
The next step for Beckham's business empire will be the publication of the Companies House filing, which will show the full extent of the special dividends paid out this year.