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Tom Brady and J.J. Watt have shared the field against each other several times over the years. With only one gaining the victory and the other left to swallow the loss. However, on this occasion, both former NFL athletes are sharing the pain of watching their soccer teams be down in the dumps.
In March 2023, Tom Brady became a minority stakeholder in the English soccer club Birmingham City F.C. A month later in May, J.J. Watt along with his wife Kealia Watt (former soccer player) became a minority owner of the Burnley F.C. Now both teams have finished their seasons close to the bottom end of the table and will be relegated down a division.
A week ago, Brady’s Birmingham faced relegation from the second division of English soccer to the third division. An embarrassment the franchise hadn't faced in 29 years. Over the weekend, Watt’s Burnley lost against Tottenham Hotspur and will be relegated from the premier division to the second division despite having a game left.
This relegation was tough on Watt and Tom Brady must be feeling a similar frustration on his end. However, Watt ended his message with positivity. He took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his feelings. The five-time Pro Bowler wrote:
“No need to hide disappointment or frustration, it should hurt. Boys made a valiant run of it the last few months, just wasn’t enough in the end. Now we go again in The Championship. Looking to relive these brilliant memories from one year ago.”
Watt’s Burnley had gained promotion last year after the NFL star became the minority owner. Now they will have to go through the same battle for promotion again.
The fate of Tom Brady and his soccer club
Despite the relegation, Watt’s team is on an upward trajectory. However, the same cannot be said for Tom Brady's Birmingham. They managed to win only 13 games out of the 46 games they played.
However, on the bright side, the soccer club proved itself to be adept at scoring goals. They scored 50 goals throughout the season and Brady would look to bolster the defense in this offseason to fight for a promotion to the Championship next season.
