NFL legend Tom Brady has become a minority owner of the English second-tier soccer team Birmingham City, holding the position of chairman of the team’s new advisory board, the club announced on Thursday.
The retired NFL quarterback has made his first move into English soccer.
Brady is investing alongside Tom Wagner, an American hedge fund manager who acquired just over 45% of the club in July, and is partnered with Knighthead Capital Management, the club’s holding company based in New York.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion will be working with the club’s sports science department to advise on health, wellness and recovery programs as well as the board on “global marketing efforts and the identification of new commercial partnership opportunities."
Birmingham finished 17th last season in the EFL championship—the second tier of the English soccer league system—and is now the longest-serving club in that division after being relegated from the Premier League in 2011.
“I’ve been part of some amazing teams in my day, and I’m looking forward to applying my perspective to create that same success here in Birmingham,” said Brady, referring to the club as “an iconic club with so much history and passion.”
In February, the 46-year-old officially retired “for good” from his extensive and successful NFL career and has a new gig lined up—a commentator on Fox's NFL coverage, which he recently said he was "looking forward" to starting in 2024.
"Tom Brady joining the Birmingham City team is a statement of intent. We are setting the bar at world-class. Tom is both investing and committing his time and extensive expertise," chairman Tom Wagner said in a welcoming statement. “Success does not come overnight. It takes time. But when you have great leaders in place everything becomes possible.”
While this takeover would be the five-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback making his first foray into the British soccer world, Brady has gained recognition in participating in a range of sporting domains. In 2022, he became a partial owner of a Major League Pickleball team. In March, Brady announced his sports apparel brand BRADY will sponsor Jota Sport—a British sports car racing team—competing in the renowned Le Mans 24-hour race. The NFL great has also recently taken on a new role as a team owner in the UIM E1 World Championship, which marks the world’s first all-electric raceboat championship. In addition to the athletic world, Brady also introduced the TB12 lifestyle brand and co-founded Autograph, an NFT (Non-Fungible Token) agency that raised $170 million in a Series B funding round, in January 2022. In 2020, he launched the production company 199 Productions, named after his selection number in the 2000 NFL draft, to develop documentaries, films, and TV shows
Tom Brady ranked 50th on Forbes’ list of the world's highest-paid athletes, with estimated earnings of $45.2 million on-and-off field deals in the 12 months ending May 1, 2023.
Brady now joins a growing list of American celebrities—including another former NFL star—dipping their toes into English soccer clubs. In May, former defensive end JJ Watt became a minority shareholder at Burnley. Other high-profile Americans include Lebron James (Liverpool), Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney (Wrexham), Elton John (former chairman of Watford; stepped down in 2017), Natalie Portman, Christina Aguilera, America Ferrera (Angel City FC), Will Ferrell (Los Angeles FC) and Michael B. Jordan (Bournemouth).
NFL legend Tom Brady becomes minority owner of English football club Birmingham City (The Athletic)
Premier League Chief Expects More Foreign Bids for English Clubs (Bloomberg)