BIRMINGHAM, England — NFL star Tom Brady has become a minority owner of English second tier side Birmingham and is looking to bring a winning mentality to an underperforming club.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion has partnered with the club’s holding company, US-based Knighthead Capital Management, and will chair a new advisory board, Brady and Birmingham announced on Thursday.
“You might be asking, ‘What do you know about English football, Tom?'” Brady said in a club video. “Well, let’s just say I have a lot to learn. But I know a few things about winning.”
Birmingham said Brady will “apply his extensive leadership experience and expertise across multiple areas of the club”. This includes working with the Department of Exercise Science to provide advice on health, nutrition and recovery programs.
“Birmingham is an iconic club with so much history and passion and to be a part of the Blues is a real honor,” said Brady.
Birmingham last played in the Premier League in 2011, the same year they won the English League Cup – one of two major trophies won by the club in its 148-year history.
Brady joins a host of other American sports stars to invest in English football clubs.
Recently former NFL player JJ Watt became a minority investor in Burnleywho has just been promoted to the Premier League, said PGA Tour golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas They will be minority owners of Leeds after investing in 49ers Enterprises, which is in the process of acquiring the second division team.
Basketball star LeBron James has been a part owner of Liverpool since 2011 due to a small stake in the club.
Brady has worked with Knighthead Capital on several other ventures and the club’s new chairman Tom Wagner is excited about Brady’s “direct impact”.
“Tom Brady joining the Birmingham team is a declaration of intent. We’re setting the bar at world class,” said Wagner. “Tom invests and invests his time and extensive expertise.”
“The goal,” added Wagner, “that Tom has set out to achieve is to make Birmingham a respected leader in nutrition, health, wellness and recreation in the world of football.”
Brady won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and another with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.
He retired in February after Tampa’s loss in the playoffs.
Under Birmingham’s new ownership, former Manchester City chief executive Garry Cook has taken on the same role and Hope Powell, former England women’s manager, has been hired as women’s technical director.