Tom Brady: NFL great ends association with Birmingham City

Birmingham City announced on Monday that Tom Brady is leaving the club's ownership group after three years. The club released a statement expressing "sincere gratitude to Tom Brady for his involvement with and unwavering support for the Club over the last three years," adding, "It was truly amazing to have someone with Tom's experience and passion associated with the Club, and the Club looks forward to continuing to build on that foundation from the training ground to the Birmingham community." AOL.com reported that Brady has given up his three-percent minority ownership stake, while The Sun noted his reported stake was approximately 3.3 percent. The departure comes as Birmingham leads the Championship table with 29 points from 15 games, level with Middlesbrough and Stoke City but ahead on goal difference of plus-14. The team is managed by Chris Davies and coming off a 2-1 win against Swansea. Birmingham was relegated to League One in Brady's first season but won promotion back to the Championship the following season. Brady joined the Knighthead Capital-backed ownership structure on August 3, 2023, his 46th birthday, partnering with Tom Wagner's Knighthead Capital Management takeover from July 2023. He became chairman of an advisory board focused on sports science, health, nutrition, and global promotion, and was directly involved in transfer conversations according to The Sun. Neither the club nor Brady gave an explanation for the sudden departure. The announcement came 11 hours after Birmingham confirmed their first interview with newly appointed Director of Football John Murtough, who arrived last month. Both the Premier League and the EFL Championship are currently paused for the international break, with Birmingham's next game scheduled for November 21 against Stoke City. Brady remains a limited owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, holding an approximately five percent stake alongside Wagner, and works as a color commentator for Fox Sports. He is set to return to the FOX booth for the San Francisco 49ers-Dallas Cowboys game on Sunday, November 15. The seven-time Super Bowl winner is the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards (89,214) and passing touchdowns (649).