Tom Brady became the best quarterback in NFL history thanks to his outstanding decision-making both on the field and in his football career. However, that same process yielded disastrous results when it came to his investment in FTX.
FTX, the company by Sam Bankman-Fried, appeared in Super Bowl commercials last year with endorsements from celebrities like Brady, David Ortiz and Larry David. While many marquee names simply endorsed the cryptocurrency exchange company, Brady and his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen took things a step further.
- Tom Brady career stats: 89,214 passing yards, 649 passing touchdowns, 97.2 QB rating
According to George Glover of Yahoo Sports, Brady invested more than $84 million into FTX to obtain 1.8 million shares in the company.
Related: Tom Brady lost over $40 million in FTX collapse
The investment came after Brady’s advisors reviewed Bankman-Fried’s company and meticulously went over the financial records. After a thorough review, Brady invested tens of millions of dollars into the company with the hope it would yield massive returns.
“People wanted shares. There was some FOMO, but people always saw financials.”
Former FTX employee to Yahoo Sports on Tom Brady, other celebrities investing in the company
Instead, FTX crashed and filed for bankruptcy in November. Everything changed when CoinDesk, a news site that focuses on cryptocurrency and bitcoin, found that Alameda Research held a majority of its portfolio within the FTT token run by FTX.
Once the discovery was made, FTT holdings were sold off at an alarming rate and that triggered FTX to file for bankruptcy following allegations of fraud.
Brady, unaware of the issues within the company, owned the entirety of the 1.1 million shares in his name. He also served as a spokesperson for FTX, appearing in multiple commercials and promoting the company.
Related: Joe Montana reportedly has hostility toward Tom Brady
One of the NFL’s all-time greats is now facing class-action lawsuits for marketing FTX, with some NFL fans claiming Brady’s endorsement of the company led them to invest and they lost their money.
- Tom Brady career earnings: $332.9 million
Fortunately for Brady, he likely won’t face any long-term financial consequences from his failed investment. Poised to join Fox Sports in 2024, he is already signed to a 10-year contract that will provide him with $375 million to serve as a lead NFL analyst and company ambassador.
