From play-off places to relegation, Tom Brady’s Birmingham investment backfires
Birmingham City’s relegation from the Championship was confirmed on Saturday despite winning at home against Norwich, with Tom Brady’s investment failing to produce in its first year
NFL legend Tom Brady’s investment in Birmingham City backfired in its first year after the Blues were relegated to League One on the final day of the Championship season.
Brady’s investment in the St Andrew’s club started brightly, with Birmingham sitting inside the playoff spots under the management of John Eustace. The seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback, who sits at chairman of the Birmingham Advisory Board, also introduced himself to fans in a local pub before heading to St Andrews to watch Birmingham take on Leeds United.
However, a controversial decision was made to fire Eustace and replace him with Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney, who had a mixed spell in MLS with DC United. Rooney was unable to build on Eustace and Birmingham’s fast start and his men started to slip down the Championship with just two wins in 15 games.
The 38-year-old was dismissed at the start of this year and Tony Mowbray then became the Blues’ third manager of the 2023/24 season – but the club’s relegation was confirmed on Saturday following a home win against Norwich, leaving them 22nd with 50 points from 46 games.
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The Blues did their job, raining shots off on Norwich’s goal in the first half. And they finally got their reward in the 55th minute through Paik Seung-ho. Paik steered his headed effort into the back of the net following Keshi Anderson’s deflected shot.
However, Birmingham needed results elsewhere to go their way, with Plymouth and Blackburn in the final-day relegation fight alongside Blues. Blackburn, managed by ex-Blues boss Eustace, away at the champions Leicester, managed to score a huge 2-0 win to push themselves to safety, while Plymouth confirmed their survival with a narrow victory over Hull City, sending Birmingham tumbling out of the second tier in a damning blow to Brady’s first year of investing in the team.
Brady announced his retirement from the NFL early last year, walking away from professional football for a second, but final time. The quarterback, who was selected 199th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, went on to become one of the league’s greatest-ever players.
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The 46-year-old played 20 seasons in New England, winning six Super Bowls, five Super Bowl MVPs, and three NFL MVPs under the legendary Bill Belichick. In 2020, though, Brady embarked on a new adventure, joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he went on to win his seventh and final Super Bowl in the 2020 campaign.
Brady played three seasons with the Buccaneers before walking away following the 2022 season. Ever since Brady has been searching for ways to fill his time. Following a divorce from Gisele Bundchen, a lot of Brady’s focus has been on his three children, Vivian, Benjamin, and Jack, the latter two of whom he shares with the Brazilian model.
Broadcasting and investments have been Brady’s other focuses, with sports team ownerships high on the agenda with Birmingham, as well as stakes in the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, MLP’s Las Vegas Night Owls, and electric boat racing. Brady will also start the first of his ten-year NFL broadcasting deal with Fox when the 2024 season gets underway later this year. The football icon’s already a very rich man but Fox will fill his pockets with a further £298.85 million in the decade-long partnership.
