THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Birmingham (in the English West Midlands) doesn't sound like a glamour destination for one of the world’s leading sports stars, but then again neither did Wrexham seem a likely landing spot for Hollywood glitz. However Tom Brady, the most decorated player in NFL history, has become a minority investor in English Championship football side Birmingham City.
When the news first broke it was to some disbelief – was this a serious move, or a gimmick? Then Brady released a video on social media explaining his investment, and that he was here to make real change for The Blues, even though admitting that he didn't know too much about soccer and has "a lot to learn". But his intention is to turn the club into winners, something he knows about, with seven Super Bowl titles to his name. "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," he explained.
Birmingham City have been starved of success over the years. They are a sleeping giant in the shadows of local rivals Aston Villa and have not been in the top division, the Premier League, since they were relegated at the end of the 2010/11 season. Since then they have been treading water in the Championship (the second level) with bottom half finishes and close shaves to further relegations. They rarely get into the latter stages of the domestic Cup competitions either, raising the question of why Brady would come on board with a seriously underachieving team.
In his video Brady said that he loves being the underdog, looking back to how he was passed over many times in the year 2000 NFL Draft, ending up as the 199th selection overall. Of course he rose above that to become a household name.
Brady is officially Birmingham's Chairman of the Advisory Board, which seems a hands on role, not one that will see him simply sitting in the stands watching his investment. The club is majority owned by another American, Tom Wagner who, through Knighthead Capital, purchased overall control of the club and stadium in July after a period of instability in which other takeover bids failed at the last minute.
"We were drawn to Birmingham for a number of reasons. It's England's second city, with one of the youngest and most diverse populations in all of Europe. A city on the rise, which is going through a significant transformation," Wagner said. On the subject of Brady he explained, "He is not here for promotion purposes. It's about having Tom very visible. His level of excellence never really tapered off. He will have a significant role in health, wellness, nutrition, human sustainability, and also how we think about player interaction."
Brady does bring star power though, and in recent times we've seen several big names from sport and beyond making a splash in English football. JJ Watt, another gridiron star, invested in Burnley, who have just won the Championship and regained their place at the top table. There has been a link-up between the San Francisco 49ers and Leeds United, a club that has just fallen back into the Championship and is looking for a swift return - among the group involved in the 49ers enterprises are golfers Jordan Speith and Justin Thomas, and Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps is a minority owner of the Yorkshire team. There has also been the high profile takeover of Chelsea FC after sanctions against Russia (following the invasion of Ukraine) left previous owner Roman Abramovich on ice - that's when Todd Boehly stepped in with his estimated worth of $5.3bn, which he started to use with a willingness that had people questioning the way he was splashing his cash in an era of fair play rules.
The highest profile takeover is that of Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. When the pair made Wrexham their second home in early 2021, it wasn't clear what the outcome would be. They have not only helped transform the playing side into one that won promotion back into the football league after 15 years in the non-league wilderness, but also some shrewd marketing including a Netflix series helped among the community. Reynolds, a natural showman, was soon the beating heart of the public face of the club, and he and McElhenney are looking for bigger things in the near future.
Football is a changing landscape, with money being the biggest talker as shown by recent moves by the Saudi league to attract players and managers with huge sums, but the foundations in the UK need to be solid too, and as long as new owners and investors grounded and govern in the correct manner, the future looks good for those teams that have traditionally sat on the periphery.
