With Tom Brady announcing his retirement (again), most will evoke memories of his dramatic comeback win, championship-closing drive, or nearly throwing the Lombardi Trophy over Tampa Bay. .
However, the seven-time Super Bowl champion, three-time NFL MVP, and definitive Football Hall of Famer has had a small footprint in the venture and startup world as well.
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The San Mateo, California native appears to be a cryptocurrency enthusiast despite having invested in a handful of startups, co-founding a couple, and being associated with the infamous FTX platform.
bargain
According to Crunchbase data, Brady has made only a small amount of startup investment so far. Some of them even extend to sports and celebrities.
Here are his investments:
- Based in Culver City, California, Omaze is an online fundraising platform that offers once-in-a-lifetime experiences and prizes to support nonprofits. The startup has raised $127 million, according to Crunchbase data.
- New York-based watch retailer HODINKEE has raised $40 million to date, according to Crunchbase.
- Washington, DC-based Class Technologies brings Zoom to the classroom. The startup has raised $164 million, according to Crunchbase.
- San Francisco-based Alt is an alternative asset platform that allows people to buy, sell and even store sports cards. The company has raised $306 million so far, according to Crunchbase.
Former University of Michigan Wolverine also co-founded two VC-backed startups himself.
He is co-chairman and director of Andreessen Horowitz-backed Autograph. Autograph helps athletes and entertainers launch and promote his NFTs. The company has received more than $200 million from him, according to Crunchbase.
He is also co-founder of Religion of Sports, a Santa Monica sports media company that provides videos, podcasts, movies and social content about sports. The startup has raised $63 million to date, according to Crunchbase.
FTX
Of course, there’s also FTX — we mentioned it earlier. Brady was one of his nearly a dozen athletes and celebrities who pushed FTX forward.
In November, a class action lawsuit was filed in Miami, alleging that FTX’s yield account was an unregistered security that promoted FTX, including FTX co-founder and CEO Sam Bankman Freed and Brazilian model Brady. Many people are seeking unspecified damages. Gisele Bundchen, tennis star Naomi Osaka, basketball star Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
FTX trading is likely one of the few things Brady can’t beat.
Now that Brady is retired, it will be interesting to see if Brady becomes more involved in ventures and VC-backed startups. There are worse people to relate to than someone commonly referred to as a ‘GOAT’ or ‘the greatest of all time’.
Photo: Alexander Jonesi, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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