Where Tom Brady ranks in the world's richest athletes amid Birmingham City involvement | OneFootball

We looked at where Birmingham City minority owner Tom Brady ranks among the world's richest athletes.

Birmingham City are preparing for life back in the Championship following their promotion from League One last season.

After spending a reported total of around £24 million last summer, including £15 million on Fulham striker Jay Stansfield, Birmingham stormed to the League One title last season as they accumulated a total of 111 points, which set a new EFL record.

Owner Tom Wagner has made no secret of the fact that the Blues are targeting back-to-back promotions next season, and it has been a strong start to the summer transfer window for the club, with six new signings arriving at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park already.

As well as their recent success on the pitch and their big spending, Birmingham's profile has also been boosted by the involvement of NFL legend Tom Brady, who became a minority owner of the club in August 2023.

Tom Brady's role at Birmingham City after purchasing minority stake

During an illustrious NFL career with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brady won a record-breaking seven Super Bowls, and he is widely considered the greatest quarterback of all time.

With that in mind, it certainly raised a few eyebrows when Brady purchased a 3.3% stake in Birmingham just months after the club's takeover by Knighthead Capital Management in 2023, and he also became chairman of a new advisory board.

It is fair to say that Brady and Knighthead's first season owning the Blues did not go to plan, with the club suffering relegation from the Championship and dropping into the third tier of English football for the first time in almost 30 years, and the board came in for plenty of criticism during the course of the campaign, most notably for the decision to replace John Eustace with Wayne Rooney.

However, it seems the Birmingham hierarchy have learned from that experience, and with the club now back in the Championship and firmly on an upward trajectory, it looks likely they will achieve their goal of reaching the Premier League in the not-too-distant future.

It is unclear exactly how much influence Brady has on football decisions at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, but Wagner has previously claimed that he is "engaged with the club 365 days a year", while manager Chris Davies insisted that the regular contact he has with the 47-year-old has been invaluable.

"It’s like having a world-class consultant, one of the greats, that I can speak to at any time," Davies told The Telegraph in April.

"I’ve worked with some top players at Liverpool and Spurs and Tom befits their very similar mentality. There is an unrelenting drive and passion for excellence."

As Brady prepares to embark on the next stage of his journey with the Blues, we looked at where he ranks among the world's richest athletes.

Having built up significant wealth during his NFL career, Brady is estimated to have a personal net worth of £300 million.

Of course, Brady is no longer an active NFL player, but in 2022, the year before he announced his retirement, Forbes ranked him as the ninth-highest paid athlete in the world, having earned a total of $83.9 million (£72.4 million), with $31.9 million of that coming from his salary and a further $52 million coming from off-field endorsements.

Inter Miami and Argentina star Lionel Messi topped the list after making a total of $130 million, with basketball star LeBron James in second place with $121.2 million, and Cristiano Ronaldo ($115 million), Neymar ($95 million) and Stephen Curry ($92.8 million) completing the top five.

Kevin Durant ($92.1 million), Roger Federer ($90.7 million) and Canelo Alvarez ($90 million) were the only other athletes who earned more than Brady in 2022, and later that year, after signing a deal with Fox Sports that is reportedly worth $375 million (£323.6 million) over 10 years, he became the highest paid sports commentator in history.

In addition to his involvement with Birmingham, Brady owns 5% of the NFL side Las Vegas Raiders, and he also founded an electric boat racing team called Team Brady, who became world champions in 2024, so he is certainly putting his vast wealth to good use in the sporting world.