Examining Tom Brady’s FTX dealings with Sam Bankman-Fried: Full timeline of 7x Super Bowl champ’s endorsement

Sam Bankman-Fried, a well-known figure in the cryptocurrency industry, was handed a 25-year jail sentence on Thursday for committing a major fraud against numerous consumers. This scam was uncovered when FTX, which was once a leading platform for trading digital currencies globally, went bankrupt.

The downfall of the FTX crypto enterprise had repercussions beyond the crypto community, as it also caused financial losses for notable figures and public figures such as comedian Larry David, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, basketball player Stephen Curry, and former NFL quarterback Tom Brady.

Brady was the most renowned individual to invest in and publicly support FTX, and it is likely that he suffered the greatest personal loss. As the ex-quarterback for the New England Patriots, he owned over 1.1 million common shares prior to FTX’s declaration of bankruptcy.

He had previously given his support to the platform and appeared in three promotional videos with his former wife, Gisele Bündchen.

Prior to their divorce in October 2022, the ex-couple had been advocates for the crypto organization throughout their 13-year marriage. The exact extent of their financial losses is unknown as FTX is a privately owned company, but Forbes approximated Brady’s contribution to be as high as $45 million.

Brady faced a civil lawsuit for his involvement in promoting FTX, which was ultimately exposed as a fraudulent company.

The Evolution of Tom Brady’s Partnership with FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried

In July 2021, FTX Trading Limited and its former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried revealed a long-term contract with Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady. The statement clarified that both Brady and Bundchen possessed shares in FTX and received payment in the form of cryptocurrency.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion served as an ambassador for FTX, while his former spouse provided guidance to the company on social and environmental initiatives.

Brady was the prominent figure in FTX’s advertising efforts. One of the commercials from July 2022 featured him using a flamethrower to melt a block of ice containing a digital asset.

After FTX declared bankruptcy in November 2022, Bankman-Fried announced his resignation as the company’s CEO. However, he was subsequently arrested on December 12, 2022, as U.S. authorities filed criminal charges against him.

Despite Brady removing all of his tweets about FTX’s bankruptcy, court documents from January 2023 revealed that he still held over 1.1 million common shares at the time of the business’s financial downfall.

According to Spotrac, Brady earned a total of $332.9 million in salary and bonuses throughout his 23-year NFL career with the Patriots and Buccaneers.