Why Tom Brady has quit Birmingham City despite them sitting top of Championship

Birmingham City have confirmed that seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady has relinquished his minority stake in the Championship club, three years after first becoming involved.

Soon after Knighthead's takeover of Birmingham City in July 2023, Brady acquired a minority stake in the club and would go on to serve as chairman of their advisory board.

In this role, he worked closely with the board and management team on global marketing efforts and the identification of new commercial partnership opportunities.

But it was announced on Monday that the 49-year-old has left the club, with Birmingham confirming the news in a statement.

“Birmingham City Football Club expresses its sincere gratitude to Tom Brady for his involvement with and unwavering support for the club over the last three years,” the statement said.

“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.”

Why Tom Brady has walked away from Championship leaders Birmingham City

The news came as a surprise to many, especially given Birmingham's form in recent months. Chris Davies' side currently sit top of the Championship with eight wins from their opening 15 games.

A report from The Telegraph suggests Brady had been struggling to balance his commitments at Birmingham with his NFL punditry role at Fox Sports.

Brady is understood to have felt that now was the right time to move on after initially being invaluable at the start of chairman Tom Wagner's tenure.

Birmingham majority owner Tom Wagner pictured alongside Tom Brady. Image credit: Getty

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The 49-year-old had previously spoken about his ambition to help Birmingham return to England's top flight after a 15-year absence.

“We want to restore it (Birmingham) to the glory that it’s been in the past," he said last year. "To move up and to be promoted to the Premier League is a very daunting task, but it can be achieved.”

Back in February, Brady was also questioned about their chances of reaching England's top flight. At the time, Birmingham were 10th in the Championship table.

"Really good question," he said. "We have three big home games coming up. We're going up. That's the goal, man. It's up to those guys, they gotta get it done."