According to a finance expert, NFL legend Tom Brady will struggle to repeat Reynolds and McElhenney’s Wrexham success at Birmingham City, and here’s why.
American A-listers becoming involved in English football clubs is a fairly new phenomena, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were two of the first to do it after taking over Wrexham in 2020. More recently, NFL star and defensive end J.J. Watt became a minority investor in newly-promoted Premier League side Burnley, while NFL legend Tom Brady has become a minority owner of Birmingham City.
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NFL legend announces his involvement in Birmingham City
The seven-time Super Bowl winning quarterback recently released a video announcing the news of his involvement with Championship club Birmingham City.
In the video, Brady admits he has ‘a lot to learn’ about English football, but that his winning mentality will help move the club in the right direction.
“Maybe you’re asking, ‘what do you know about English football, Tom?’ Well, let’s just say, I’ve got a lot to learn,” he says.
The retired 46-year-old will reportedly work closely with the board and the management team on global marketing efforts and the identification of new commercial partnership opportunities for the club.
Tom Brady will struggle to replicate Reynolds and McElhenney’s Wrexham success at Birmingham, says expert
It’s highly likely Brady has seen the success that Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have had at Wrexham and wants in on the action at his own club.
However, according to football financial expert Rob Wilson, a professor of economics at Sheffield Business School, emulating Reynolds and McElhenney’s achievements will be no easy feat.
Wilson said, “Brady possibly had Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, and their investment in Wrexham, in mind when he chose to invest in Birmingham City.
“The unique thing about Wrexham is there’s a unique story behind it, because of the age and location. I don’t see the Wrexham story being repeated as multiple. Tom Brady has a massive following because of his success in American football, and there will be a story to tell about him and his story in investing in Birmingham FC. But he would have suited any club in that context.
“I’m sure, given the general population’s thirst for behind-the-scenes content and documentaries, I’m sure there will be some TV production in and around that space. But you still have to leverage it and generate big money from it, for Wrexham, they have generated good money because of the size of the club and community. If they had been a couple of divisions higher then they wouldn’t have been returning the same kind of figures they have done.”
Reynolds and McElhenney have got it right on and off the pitch so far
Replicating Reynolds’ and McElhenney’s success will certainly be some achievement for Brady. The actors paid just £2 million ($2.5m) for Wrexham in 2021, and the club is now believed to be worth around £8 million ($10.1m) – a 300 per cent increase in just three years.
The Hollywood stars have been able to utilise their story telling and filmmaking expertise to get the Wrexham journey in front of a global audience, boosting their commercial opportunities with the highly successful Disney+ documentary, Welcome to Wrexham.
And that off-field success has been mirrored on the pitch, too. Wrexham were in the fifth tier of English football when Reynolds and McElhenney first took over, and desperate several setbacks the club was able to clinch promotion last season to return to League Two for the first time in 15 years.
Reynolds and McElhenney have pretty much done everything right since taking over the club, and while you’d be a fool to bet against Tom Brady, he’s certainly got his work cut out to replicate their success at Birmingham City.