FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried had access to a litany of notable people in politics and business, but his closest relationship may have been in the sports world.
Although Bankman-Fried reportedly wasn’t a big sports fan, being partial instead to video games like League of Legends, he agreed to eight-figure partnerships with Tom Brady and his then wife Gisele Bündchen to serve as “ambassadors” for FTX. Brady, in particular, appeared in TikTok videos, at events, and in commercials promoting Bankman-Fried and the company. In 2021, the former quarterback also signed an endorsement deal that promised him $30 million almost entirely in FTX stock, according to the New York Times.
In reality, Bankman-Fried’s relationship with Brady and Bündchen began when SBF reportedly agreed to pay Brady $55 million and Bündchen nearly $20 million for 20 hours of their time yearly over three years, according to a Washington Post essay adapted from Michael Lewis’s new book on FTX, Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon, which will be released Tuesday. For context, in one of his last seasons in the NFL, Brady earned about $30 million for his on-field performance with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to Forbes.
What started as a very comfortable arrangement for Brady blossomed into a friendship, according to a 60 Minutes interview with Lewis that aired on Sunday. Lewis said Brady “adored” SBF.
“I think Tom Brady thought he was just a really interesting person. I think he liked to hear what he had to say,” Lewis said.
And although SBF’s interests differed wildly from those of the seven-time Super Bowl–winning quarterback, he got along well with Brady, Lewis added.
“He really liked Tom Brady. And Sam wasn’t, like, a big sports person, so it was funny to watch that interaction,” Lewis told 60 Minutes. “It was like, ‘These two people actually get along.’ It’s like the class nerd and the quarterback.”
FTX’s collapse was a major blow to Brady financially, as the company shares he was promised were suddenly worth nothing, but he was personally affected as well, according to Lewis.
“Brady was, I think, crushed,” Lewis told 60 Minutes host Jon Wertheim. “And I think as time has gone by, and he’s ceased to get a really good explanation about what’s happened—I think he’s just like, ‘He tricked me. I’m angry. I don’t wanna have anything to do with it anymore.'”
