22 August 2023 , 19:36
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NFL legend Tom Brady has been sent a stark warning regarding the potential financial gain from his recent investment in Birmingham City.
The former NFL quarterback became a minority owner in the Championship club earlier this month. Brady will work as the chairman of the club’s new advisory board, as well as alongside majority owner and fellow American Tom Wagner.
The 46-year-old has held a good relationship with Wagner and his company, Knighthead Capital Management LLC. Brady is also a part owner of a Major League Pickleball team, with his lifestyle apparel clothing company the Official Apparel Partner of Knighthead's World Endurance Championship racing team.
Brady retired from the NFL in February after a glittering 23-year career in the sport where he won seven Super Bowl rings. Six of his triumphs came with the New England Patriots, while his seventh and final came with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Now retired, Brady is venturing into the next stage of his career which involves following in the footsteps of fellow Americans Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. He was at St Andrew’s for Birmingham’s first home game of the season on August 12, which ended in a 1-0 win over Leeds United thanks to a stoppage-time penalty from Lukas Jutkiewicz.
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Brady has already outlined his commitment to Birmingham, and Wagner himself reiterated that the NFL legend is in the project for the long haul. However, Brady has been warned that it could be many years before he gets any benefit from his investment.
Rob Wilson is a professor of economics at Sheffield Business School, and has provided some insight into a timeline of Brady's potential benefits from his investment in Birmingham.
“If return on investment is Brady’s prime motive, and we don’t know what that is, then you’re looking at a time frame of more than 10 years,” Wilson told .
“You’re also talking about investment in the playing and coaching squad, plus restructuring the stadium too.
“Birmingham is a big city and a lot of football gets played in and around it, whether it’s Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion etc, so there’s a lot of competition in and around the city for them to get around before they can start to make some strong financial returns.
“So I don’t think a 10-year time horizon is excessive, I think it’s quite modest. Ultimately it requires promotion and it requires much tighter cost control so they can wash their face financially in the league they are playing in and hopefully generate additional revenues from being promoted, generating inward investment.”