--- title: "Tom Brady Reportedly Made $55 Million From FTX From Doing Almost No Work" description: "Crypto Side Hustle While disgraced crypto baron Sam Bankman-Fried awaits his imminent trial in a Brooklyn jail cell this week, more details of his fallen FTX crypto exchange's backroom deals with celebrities are coming to light. American journalist Michael Lewis recently got a glimpse of the exchange's internal marketing documents, which paint an eye-popping picture […]" date: "2023-10-03" modified: "2023-10-03" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tom-brady-ftx-details" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "ftx" - "sam bankman-fried" - "the digest" - "tom brady" --- # Tom Brady Reportedly Made $55 Million From FTX From Doing Almost No Work ![According to American journalist Michael Lewis, FTX paid NFL quarterback legend Tom Brady "$55 million for 20 hours a year for three years."]() *\Image: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images\* ## Side Hustle While disgraced crypto baron Sam Bankman-Fried awaits his imminent trial this week in a Brooklyn jail cell, more details of his fallen FTX crypto exchange's backroom deals with celebrities are coming to light. American journalist Michael Lewis recently got a glimpse of the exchange's internal marketing documents, which paint an eye-popping picture of just how much money the exchange was able to throw around. In a [*CNBC* interview](), Lewis, whose upcoming book titled "Going Infinite" details Bankman-Fried's rise and fall, laid out just how much the company spent to get celebrities to shill for them — and the figures are staggering. Bankman-Fried paid NFL quarterback legend Tom Brady "$55 million for 20 hours a year for three years," Lewis told *CNBC*'s Jon Wertheim. "He paid Steph Curry $35 million for \[the\] same thing for three years." "Pretty good hourly wage," Wertheim mused. ## Nerd Herd While Brady may have gotten a big paycheck for being an FTX brand ambassador at the time, the spectacular implosion of the exchange last year led to massive losses for the football star. According to internal documents [revealed earlier this year](), Brady owned just over 1.1 million common shares of FTX — which lost virtually all of their value following the exchange's collapse. According to estimates, Brady [lost almost $30 million](), meaning that he may still have made a net profit. Nonetheless, FTX's collapse may have led to a big falling out between Brady and SBF. The FTX co-founder "really liked Tom Brady," Lewis told *CNBC,* comparing their unusual relationship to "the class nerd and the quarterback." "Brady was I think crushed," he continued, feeling "tricked" and "angry." Apart from building up a who's-who of celebrity ambassadors including Brady's ex-wife Giselle Bündchen, Larry David, and Shaquille O'Neal, FTX's executives spent staggering sums on [opulent mansions]() in the Bahamas and even racked up [tens of thousands of dollars]() worth of bills at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. Bankman-Fried [used to joke]() "internally about their tendency to lose track of millions of dollars in assets," according to damning documents filed by debtors in April. The 31-year-old crypto baron is now [facing over 100 years]() in prison and has since [pleaded not guilty to seven counts]() of fraud and conspiracy. He will stand trial later this week, with jury selection kicking off on Tuesday. While he may not spend the rest of his days in prison, he's still facing a "[very long sentence]()," according to US District Judge Lewis Kaplan. **More on SBF:** *[Judge Warns Sam Bankman-Fried He's Facing a "Very Long Sentence"]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()