Tom Brady is retiring ... again.
This time from soccer ownership.
The legendary quarterback has withdrawn his investment in Birmingham City Football Club, a member of the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football one step below the Premier League.
The club released a statement on Monday, Nov. 9 announcing Brady's departure and thanking him for being a member of their ownership group.
"Birmingham City Football Club expresses its sincere gratitude to Tom Brady for his involvement with and unwavering support for the Club over the last three years," the statement said.
"It was truly amazing to have someone with Tom’s experience and passion associated with the Club, and the Club looks forward to continuing to build on that foundation from
the training ground to the Birmingham community."
Brady leaves the side as they sit at the top of the Championship table with eight wins, two losses and five draws. He had not commented publicly about his departure at the time of publication.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion purchased a minority stake in Birmingham City in August 2023 shortly after he hung up his helmet, per Forbes. At the time, the club had finished 17th in the Championship standings and was relegated from the Premier League in 2011. His role as owner also included a position as chairman on the club's advisory board and he served as a health and nutrition consultant.
“I’ve been part of some amazing teams in my day, and I’m looking forward to applying my perspective to create that same success here in Birmingham,” Brady said when he invested.
The Athletic notes that the former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers star had a 3.3 percent ownership stake in the club and his longtime wellness coach, Alex Guerrero, worked with the team.
Brady first retired from football in 2022 after 22 seasons in the NFL, then returned to play one more season. He retired "for good" in February of 2023.
Tom Brady's sports investments, other celebrity soccer owners
The five-time Super Bowl MVP has investments in other sports teams and entities, including the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders, WNBA's Las Vegas Aces, Major League Pickleball and an E1 boat racing team.
J.J. Watt is a minority owner of Burnley FC, another EFL Championship club, and helped design one of the team's kits this season.
Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, formerly McElhenney, invested in Wrexham FC in 2021 and brought the club, which played in the fifth-tier of English football, into the global conversation through a documentary series and success on the pitch. They were promoted three straight years all the way up to the Championship.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tom Brady retires from soccer ownership, leaves Birmingham City
