Tom Brady was named Thursday as the new minority owner of Birmingham City Football Club, a soccer team playing in the second league of English football.
“So here’s the deal, I’m officially coming on board at Birmingham City Football Club,” Brady said in a video announcing his investment. “And maybe you’re asking, ‘What do you know about English football, Tom?’ Well, let’s just say I’ve got a lot to learn.”
The NFL legend, 46, is making the move through a partnership with Knighthead Capital Management, an American investment company that completed a takeover of the club in July. As well as holding part-ownership of Birmingham City, Brady is also now the chair of the club’s advisory board.
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“Tom Brady joining the Birmingham City team is a statement of intent,” Tom Wagner, the chairman of the team’s board, said in a statement. We are setting the bar at world class. Tom is both investing and committing his time and extensive expertise.”
Exactly what that expertise is, or why the most successful quarterback in football history would want to buy into Birmingham City, specifically, isn’t clear. Perhaps he’s hoping to capture some of the magic conjured by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who returned Wales’ Wrexham AFC back to a professional league last season after completing a surprise takeover of the then-semi-professional side in 2020.
But Birmingham City already plays at a much higher level than Wrexham and has a lot less potential for the type of rags-to-riches transformation that Reynolds and McElhenney have managed to parlay into a critically acclaimed documentary series. Based in the English Midlands, Birmingham City plays second fiddle to its closest rivals, Aston Villa, which is currently in the Premier League.
Promotion to the Premier League is what every team in the second league—confusingly named “the Championship”—strives for, but getting out of the division is no mean feat. Birmingham City has spent the last 12 years in the Championship, and actually came much closer to being relegated into the third division last season than making a glorious return to the big time.
Brady’s introduction also comes at a time of heightened sensitivity about American owners muscling in on English soccer. Half of the Premier League’s 20 teams are now at least partly owned by U.S. investors, some of whom aren’t exactly beloved by British soccer supporters. Manchester United fans are desperate to see the back of the Glazer family’s ownership of their team, while Chelsea supporters watched in disbelief as their team sank to their lowest points tally in a Premier League season since the 1980s after Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly’s consortium bought the club from Roman Abramovich last year.
Brady, who retired from the NFL in February, seems undaunted by the suspicions toward U.S. owners buying into teams with which they have no connection. “Birmingham City is an iconic club with so much history and passion and to be part of the Blues is a real honour for me,” he said, according to a statement softening the blow to diehard fans by using British spelling.
He also made reference to the fact that Birmingham is considered England’s “Second City” behind London, though the postindustrial metropolis in no way resembles Chicago. (J.R.R. Tolkein’s nightmarish depiction of Mordor in Lord of the Rings is believed to have been inspired by the industrialized Black Country around Birmingham.)
“BCFC is built on teamwork and determination and I’m excited to work alongside the board, management and players to make our Second City club second to none,” Brady said. “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.”
