Tom Brady continues to invest in his post-playing career. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Tom Brady became the most recent American football star to invest in an English soccer team.
The seven-time Super Bowl winner and recently retired quarterback bought an ownership stake in Birmingham City F.C., the team announced Thursday. He partnered with Knighthead Capital Management, a New York-based investment firm that bought the club in July, and will become chairman of the team’s new advisory board.
“Birmingham City is an iconic club with so much history and passion,” Brady said in a statement, “and to be part of the Blues is a real honor for me.”
The announcement also came on Brady’s 46th birthday.
Brady invested in the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces in March and reached a deal to become a minority owner of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders in May. However, the Raiders ownership deal still needs to be approved by the league’s owners. Brady was also among a plethora of sports stars to buy a professional pickleball team.
Birmingham City plays in the English Football League Championship — the division below the Premier League — and plays its home games 120 miles northwest of London. Last year, the Blues finished 17th in the table with 53 points.
Coincidentally, the team that finished first in the EFL in 2022 also saw investment from another recently retired NFL star. Former Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt and his wife, former NWSL player Kealia Watt, bought a stake in Burnley on May 1. Burnley was promoted back to the Premier League because of its first-place finish, and Watt made sure to remind Brady of that fact.
Brady and Watt both retired from the NFL in 2022. Brady played 23 years in the league, most notably for the New England Patriots. He won six Super Bowls and three MVPs with the Patriots, while Brady also won a Super Bowl in 2021 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Watt played 12 years in the NFL and won three Defensive Player of the Year awards.
