Amid the non-stop, super-hyped coverage of David Beckham’s (and his “Posh Spice” wife Victoria’s) arrival in the U.S., have come all sorts of lofty predictions about how he will finally build a real following for soccer in this country where we’re mostly non-plussed about the sport.

There also was that little mention of the “quarter of a million” jerseys that his new MLS team, the L.A. Galaxy, said it has sold since releasing his new adidas jersey last week.

That’s 250,000, folks.

Yes, he’s an international star, but we’re talking about soccer here. Is that like the requests for 500,000 tickets to the Dolphins-New York Giants game at London’s Wembley Stadium in October that the NFL said were received on a Web site asking people to express interest in buying tickets? People don’t believe that number, either.

So I asked Eddie White, vice president of team properties for Reebok-adidas, for some perspective.

White says the quarter of a million is “possible,” given Beckham’s status as an immensely popular, good-looking, international star, but he says it’s also hard to know for sure.

“That number is a pretty high number,” White said. “That would have to take into account adult and children [sizes], authentic and replica and I don’t know if there’s a T-shirt with his name on it they’re counting … Off the top of my head, I think it’s a little high.”

For comparison purposes, White said Beckham would be on par with Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade in the NBA or Reggie Bush, Peyton Manning and Brian Urlacher in the NFL. The numbers would not be the same – Reebok, which makes jersesy for both the NBA and NFL, won’t release figures – but the level and popularity of the athlete in his sport is similar. Other factors that need to be considered, White says, are the number of colors or versions of jerseys their teams release; the success of the player and his team; and the size of the market.

For example, New England Patriots fans can get quarterback Tom Brady’s jersey in red, blue, white and silver versions, but Indianapolis Colts fans are limited to Manning jerseys in white and blue, White said.

Numbers rise, White said, when a popular player switches teams, like Terrell Owens moving from the San Francisco 49ers to the Philadelphia Eagles and then to the Dallas Cowboys. The already wildly popular Beckham arriving in Los Angeles would be like Super Bowl XLI Champion Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning -- he of the popular television ads and Saturday Night Live hosting appearance -- moving to New York, White said.

“If Peyton went to the Giants tomorrow, his numbers would be equal to Beckham,” White said. “A popular player with national celebrity moving into a great market.”