By james art Birmingham City’s fortunes have turned around since Tom Wagner and Knighthead Capital acquired 45.64% of the club in May 2023.
Every newly wealthy owner of any type of business, whether it’s a sports team or a more ordinary company, expects that they will come in and make a positive impact. Well, that’s not how Wagner’s first months at St Andrew’s went.
With John Eustace in charge of the first team and NFL legend and now minority owner Tom Brady drinking in pubs with fans, City were in the play-off places in the early parts of the season.
But for a still mind boggling reason, they opted to ditch the current Blackburn Rovers boss in favor of bringing in Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, with the aim of implementing a more attractive style of football.
It didn’t work.
Rooney’s appointment sent Birmingham down a slippery slope that ended with them being relegated to League One on the final day of the 2023/24 Championship season.
Despite the initial despair of the descent, there was still plenty of reason for hope.
Knighthead’s investment in Birmingham City
In addition to the stake the New York hedge fund bought in 2023, Knighthead have committed a further £2-3bn to the development of a new ‘Sports Quarter’ in the east of the city, including a new stadium, first team and training facilities of the academy. However, there could be problems with this project if local transport links are not improved, according to Wagner.
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Tom Wagner reveals a potential stumbling block in Birmingham City’s big development
The chairman of the “blues” warned of a problem facing the biggest project of the club.
The cost of this proposed project at the old Birmingham Wheels will not be fully covered by the American and the other members of its consortium. As any well-run club would try to do, they have secured lucrative sponsorship deals to help pay for things.
They have signed deals with Delta Air Lines, Nike and UNDEFEATED, which are expected to bring in £20-30m for the club.
This money would cover the costs of the transfers made in the summer. A serious restructuring of the composition was carried out. They broke all Ligue 1 spending records in the process, with a total of £20-25m being spent by the Blues, according to The Athletic.
Brady more than lives up to the title of minority owner. He only has 3.3p worth of shares in the club, according to Kieran Maguire, and no voting rights, so he’s certainly not the one funding this team. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have the means to do so.
How Tom Brady Made His Millions
According to Birmingham Live, the former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback has a net worth of £350 million.
Much of his income, of course, comes from his playing days. His last contract as an American footballer was worth £38 million. He was known for taking less money than he was worth to allow his team to spend elsewhere, which is so important in a league with a hard cost cap.
If he had been more willing to take the millions that would otherwise have been offered, his current net worth would be much higher.
Brady has had sports-related ventures since his retirement. He owns stakes in many Las Vegas sports teams, including a deal in which he and the president of Birmingham acquired 10% of the Las Vegas Raiders NFL team, with Brady himself owning 5%. This purchase has already been approved by the NFL owners.
In addition to his involvement in sports teams, he is now venturing into the world of sports media. He has a 10-year, £285m deal with Fox Sports to be an analyst for their coverage of American football, according to Birmingham Live.
Wellness and sports performance brands also fall into Brady’s broad portfolio of business ventures, as well as a manufacturing company.