WHAT HAPPENED? Earlier in the summer, Brady joined hands with Knighthead Capital Management LL and became a minority owner at Championship side Birmingham City. But the NFL legend has been told by football financial expert Rob Wilson, a professor of economics at Sheffield Business School, that he will only start gaining financially from his investment at least after 10 years from now.
WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, Wilson said, “If the 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. 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.
AND WHAT’S MORE: Wilson also explained why Brady will find it difficult to emulate the success of Wrexham’s Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney on and off the pitch.
“Brady possibly had Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, and their investment in Wrexham, in mind when he chose to invest in Birmingham City,” said Wilson. “The unique thing about Wrexham is there’s a unique story behind it, because of the age and location. I don’t see the Wrexham story being repeated as multiple. Tom Brady has a massive following because of his success in American football, and there will be a story to tell about him and his story in investing in Birmingham FC. But he would have suited any club in that context.
“I’m sure, given the general population’s thirst for behind-the-scenes content and documentaries, I’m sure there will be some TV production in and around that space. But you still have to leverage it and generate big money from it, for Wrexham, they have generated good money because of the size of the club and community. If they had been a couple of divisions higher then they wouldn’t have been returning the same kind of figures they have done.”
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WHAT NEXT FOR BIRMINGHAM CITY? The Blues, who are currently fourth in the Championship table, will face Plymouth Argyle on August 26.