One of the greatest football players of all time — earning him the nickname “the GOAT” by many fans — Tom Brady started his NFL career for the New England Patriots, moving on to be the team’s starting quarterback as it accomplished six Super Bowl victories and taking away other notable titles. Brady stayed with the Patriots for 20 years, from 2000 to 2020, before signing a $50 million deal to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with whom he also helped capture a Super Bowl win.
Brady holds many notable quarterback career records, including throwing more than 600 touchdown passes, never having a losing season, and being the only quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl across three decades. His football skills and charming personality have helped make Brady a celebrity with more than 20 million followers across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. He also regularly posts crypto-related content due to his involvement with the FTX cryptocurrency exchange and his interest in Bitcoin as a payment method for professional athletes.
Brady first announced his introduction to the crypto space in April 2021 by co-founding the nonfungible token platform Autograph with entrepreneur Richard Rosenblatt. The site includes signed digital memorabilia of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback as well as autographs of other major figures in sports and entertainment. He later added the iconic “laser eyes” to his Twitter profile picture, moving on to promote Bitcoin as a medium of exchange as well as an investment.
In June 2021, Brady and his wife, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen, each obtained an equity stake in crypto exchange FTX and some tokens as part of a partnership with West Realm Shires Services, FTX Trading Limited and Blockfolio. FTX later said it would be launching a $20 million ad campaign featuring the couple.
Crypto also found its way into Brady’s work as an NFL player last year. When Buccaneers teammate Mike Evans mistakenly handed off the quarterback’s 600th touchdown pass football to a random spectator, Brady later offered the fan Bitcoin in exchange for its return. He sometimes offered his opinions on the space to other professional sports players through social media, including NBA star Steph Curry.
With one of the longest careers in NFL history, the quarterback announced on Feb. 1 he would be retiring from professional football at the age of 44, despite earlier hints he would continue playing until 2024. Brady’s contract with the Buccaneers had been locked in through the 2022 season, with some speculating that the team would have made another multi-million dollar offer to keep the GOAT.
FTX will be airing an ad spot during Super Bowl LVI, held in February 2022, but it’s unclear whether Brady will be making an appearance at the event, either as a spectator or on the jumbotron. His involvement with both NFT platform Autograph and the crypto exchange will likely extend for at least a few years, if not longer.
Brady could usher in an era of greater adoption of crypto among professional athletes and celebrities should he continue to make inroads in the space and stay positive on Bitcoin. Autograph already raised $170 million in January 2022 in an effort to scale its operations focusing on Web3. Interest in NFTs could continue to grow with a figure like Brady behind them.
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