According to a recent report by author Michael Lewis, former NFL quarterback Tom Brady was paid a staggering $55 million to appear in commercials for the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. As part of the deal, Brady was required to dedicate just 20 hours of his time each year over a three-year period.
The Price of Celebrity Endorsement
Lewis, who claims to have seen confidential documents supporting his story, also revealed that basketball star Stephen Curry received $35 million to promote the exchange. The disclosures shed light on FTX's aggressive and exorbitant spending on celebrity endorsements before its dramatic collapse in late 2022. Lewis described Sam Bankman-Fried's (SBF) relationship with Brady, stating, "He really liked Tom Brady. And Sam wasn’t, like, a big sports person, so it was funny to watch that interaction. It’s like the class nerd and the quarterback."
Financial Fallout and Regret
Despite receiving millions of dollars worth of FTX stock as payment, Brady is estimated to have suffered a loss of $30 million when the exchange imploded. His then-wife Gisele Bündchen similarly saw her net worth drop by $18 million. Lewis noted that after the collapse, an angry Brady believed Bankman-Fried had tricked him into endorsing the platform and wanted nothing more to do with FTX. The revelations come amid ongoing class-action lawsuits against Brady and other celebrity promoters, who face accusations of misleading investors about the risks of FTX's products.
Broader Implications
The high-profile endorsements served as a key marketing strategy for FTX, which positioned itself as a mainstream, trusted brand. However, the exchange's bankruptcy exposed the dark side of such arrangements, leaving many investors burned. SBF was subsequently convicted on multiple fraud charges. Meanwhile, the case of Brady and Curry underscores the potential liability celebrities face when promoting volatile financial products without due diligence. The sporting world continues to grapple with the fallout from one of the most expensive and disastrous endorsement deals in history.
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