Why is the NFL investing in the EFL

Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl champion and proclaimed greatest player in NFL history, has become a minority owner in English football club Birmingham City.

The 46-year-old, who retired for a second time from the NFL after the 2022 season, has entered a partnership with Knighthead Capital Management LLC and will now take his place as Chairman of the new Advisory Board at Birmingham.

Brady has spoken of his excitement at taking on his new role, as he looks to make Birmingham a force to be reckoned to add even more excitement to the Blues’ and their summer recruitment ahead of the new season.

It comes following an influx of investment in the English Football League (EFL) from members of the NFL past and present over the past 12 months. The San Francisco 49ers took over a majority stake in Leeds United this summer, while former 3x Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt became involved in Burnley prior to their promotion to the Premier League earlier in the year.

Infact, the Americans are well and truly involved in the English game, with more than 30 per cent of the EFL, two National League teams and four of the 12 Scottish Premiership clubs all either owned or invested in by US-based groups.

So what’s happening and why?

Wrexham, desire for promotion and a top dollar opportunity

Brady’s investment follows a wave of recent takeovers from America, with some high-profile examples other the past few years including Ipswich Town, Crawley Town and of course, Wrexham.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s effect on Wrexham, not just as a sports franchise but as a town, has been sensational, and their return for what they have put in hasn’t been too bad either. Having bought the then National League club for around £2 million ($2.5m) in 2021, the duo have overseen the club being promoted to the EFL’s League Two, the fourth tier of English Football, with their sights set on progressing up the divisions even further.

Their ability to commercialise Wrexham, in transforming them from a fan-owned entity in need of love to a global brand subject to their own Disney+ documentary series, has been an example of how to grow a club’s popularity and value in a short space of time from a fairly low purchase price in comparison to the sums of money buying Premier League clubs now involves.

Reynolds and McElhenny have set the benchmark, and the appeal of the getting involved in an English football club has influenced the likes of Brady and Watt to embark on journeys of their own. Owning or investing in a Premier League club is now a status reserved purely for multi-billionaires, so the EFL and National League has become the investment focus in British football with the prospect of exposing clubs to the growing popularity of soccer in the US and afar.

English football represents a low-cost entry point. The history of it appeals. You can buy a 100-year-old+ club for less than the cost of a franchise in the US minor leagues, and their following and potential to grow makes such investments exciting projects. 

Promotion and relegation must also have a big influence on US investment. Both are not present in the American franchise-based system operating in most sports there, including the NFL and MLS, so the potential for investors to see return on their money if their team progresses up the leagues – ultimately, albeit being an incredible challenge, reaching the Premier League – is endless.

So can we expect more NFL involvement in the EFL? Undoubtedly. For better or worse for the English game, opportunities keep opening and new former NFL players will seize their opportunity.