Tom Brady may be a relative newcomer to the world of English football, but he takes the sport as seriously as he treated the NFL during his 22-year career on the field.
Now a co-owner of Birmingham City, the seven-time Super Bowl winner is as invested in the Blues as he was when he led the offense in New England and Tampa Bay.
“I’m not in there on an operational role,” Brady said in Amazon Prime’s Built in Birmingham: Brady & the Blues, which premiered on August 1.
“I’m here in a visionary role.”
Brady’s vision moved a step closer to becoming reality after Birmingham stormed to League One title last season with a record 111 points to return to the Championship - English football’s second tier - at the first time of asking.
The Blues’ dominant run was in stark contrast with the chaos that had engulfed the first 12 months under Brady and his fellow co-owner Tom Wagner.
John Eustace was sacked with the club sixth in the Championship in October 2023 and replaced by former England captain Wayne Rooney.
It was a curious decision at the time and one Birmingham lived to regret as Rooney was fired just 83 days into his tenure after the Blues had plummeted all the way down to the relegation zone.
“I’m a little worried about our head coach’s work ethic,” Brady said of the Manchester United great in the documentary.
"I mean, I don't know, I don't have great instincts on that."
Rooney was replaced by Tony Mowbray, who began to steady the ship but had to step aside in March of last year following his diagnosis for bowel cancer.
Rowett eventually returned to take over from Mowbray’s assistant Mark Venus, but ultimately fell short of keeping Birmingham up.
How Birmingham’s record run unfolded
Birmingham City players celebrate promotion after the Sky Bet League One match at the Weston Homes Stadium, Peterborough. Picture date: Tuesday April 8, 2025. (Photo by Joe Giddens/PA Images via Getty Images)
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With the Blues relegated to the third division for the first time since the 1994-95 season, Brady and Wagner promised “sweeping changes” in the aftermath of their first campaign in charge and delivered.
Chris Davies, who served as assistant to both Brendan Rodgers and Ange Postecoglou at Celtic and followed the latter to Tottenham, was appointed to replace Rowett.
He was immediately impressed with Brady’s approach.
“It’s like having a world-class consultant, one of the greats, that I can speak to at any time,” Davies told The Telegraph of the seven-time Super Bowl winner.
“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.”
Sixteen players departed and 17 new signings arrived alongside Davies for a combined outlay of £25m ($32m), a staggering amount for a third division club.
“We’re in League One but I don’t think there are any players in this team who are League One players," Birmingham captain Krystian Bielik told the BBC at the end of September.
"In six months, we’ll be a Championship team and a different animal.”
The signings included the £15m ($20m) signing of Jay Stansfield from Fulham, as the England Under-21 international made his move to Birmingham permanent after spending the previous season on loan at St Andrew’s.
The 22-year-old repaid the investment, scoring 19 goals in 37 appearances to fire the Blues to promotion with six games to spare, as Bielik’s prediction proved prescient.
What next for Birmingham and Tom Brady?
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Jay Stansfield of Birmingham City celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 2-1 during the Sky Bet League One match between Birmingham City FC and Wrexham AFC at St Andrews at Knighthead Park on September 16, 2024 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
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The logical question for Birmingham is what comes next?
Wagner said in June that winning back-to-back promotions is a realistic target, a feat Norwich, Southampton and Ipswich Town have all pulled off over the past 15 years.
Conversely, of the teams that were promoted to the Championship over the past decade, 15 found themselves back in League One within two seasons.
“Just because you were successful last year doesn’t mean you’re going to be successful this year,” Brady told The Guardian last month.
Birmingham have made major signings again this summer, spending £10m ($13.4m) to make midfielder Tommy Doyle’s loan from Wolves permanent.
A similar amount was spent to bring in former Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi from Ligue 1 side Rennes, while England Under-21 goalkeeper James Beadle has joined on loan from Brighton.
Demarai Gray, a Premier League title winner with Leicester City in 2016, has returned to St Andrew’s, but Ajax striker Chuba Akpom turned down the Blues and opted to sign for Ipswich instead.
One of the three relegated teams from the Premier League last season, the Tractor Boys will travel to St Andrew’s for the opening game of the season on Friday night as they begin their bid to return to the top flight at the first time of asking.
Along with Southampton and Leicester, who also dropped into the Championship last season, Ipswich are favourites for promotion as are Sheffield United, who lost the play-offs final in May.
Birmingham’s rivalry with Wrexham set to resume
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Rob McElhenney, co owner of Wrexham talks with Tom Brady co owner of Birmingham City ahead of the Sky Bet League One match between Birmingham City FC and Wrexham AFC at St Andrewís at Knighthead Park on September 16, 2024 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
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But Birmingham are expected to be one of the clubs in contention for a play-offs spot, perhaps alongside former League One foes Wrexham.
Owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the Welsh outfit were the only side who could rival Birmingham’s financial power in League One.
Wrexham won a third promotion on the bounce, but finished a staggering 19 points behind the Blues.
Like their rivals, the Dragons have been ambitious this summer with Wales international Kiefer Moore their fourth signing costing over £1m ($1.3m) in the past three weeks.
The club has also twice broken their transfer record to sign midfielder Lewis O’Brien and wing-back Liberato Cacace.
But despite their financial might, Birmingham and Wrexham operate on a different level from the likes of Southampton, Leicester, Ipswich and Sheffield United, whose coffers are boosted by parachute payments.
A means of financial support provided by the Premier League to clubs relegated to the Championship, the payments are designed to help the transition to a division with a lower revenue.
The payments are structured as a percentage of the Premier League’s broadcasting revenue, decreasing over a three-year period.
Southampton, for example, will receive £49m ($65.2m) in parachute payments alone this summer.
Like Wrexham, Birmingham are looking to close the gap by maximizing revenue through commercial deals with Nike and Delta Airlines. Having Brady on board can only help.
Wagner has also already outlined plans to build a 62,000-capacity new stadium, which would be more than double that of St Andrew’s.
“The best part of the story is just beginning," he said as he addressed the crowd after the final home game of last season.
“I promise you this is not the best day we will enjoy together.”
Marking the club’s 150th anniversary by returning to the Premier League would be one way to eclipse last season’s achievements.