Why is Tom Brady buying a stake in Birmingham City?

For a while earlier today, Birmingham City, a largely unfashionable club who ranked 37th in the English soccer pyramid last season, were trending on Twitter.

It was nothing to do with what they had done on the pitch. Instead, it related to their announcement that Tom Brady — arguably the greatest ever NFL player — had become a minority owner.

And from England’s second city to the U.S., the same question was being asked: why is a seven-time Super Bowl champion investing in a middle-ranking club in the Championship, the second tier of English football? And why is he doing it now, on the eve of their 2023-24 season?
 

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