NFL insider floats theory that Tom Brady's WWE venture could lead to a presidential run

NBC Sports commentator Mike Florio says Tom Brady's push into professional wrestling may be less about entertainment and more about building a political base, a theory with roots stretching back to the convicted FTX founder's own pitch to Brady years ago.

Florio raised the idea on his PFT PM broadcast this week after receiving an email from a viewer who connected the dots between Brady's expanding post-football portfolio and a possible future in politics. The NFL insider said he dug into the claim and found it was not new. A February 2024 report from Puck revealed that Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced cryptocurrency mogul now serving 25 years in federal prison for defrauding hundreds of thousands of FTX customers, had been privately urging Brady to seek the Republican presidential nomination as far back as 2022.

Bankman-Fried reportedly told multiple people around him that he wanted Brady to run for the G.O.P. nomination and believed the seven-time Super Bowl champion would be a stronger candidate than Donald Trump. That effort, of course, collapsed along with FTX, and Bankman-Fried's freedom, when a federal court sentenced him in March 2024.

From the gridiron to the ring, and maybe beyond

Brady, now 48, has been busy since retiring from football in 2023. He holds a 10-year, $375 million deal as an NFL analyst for FOX. He owns a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. He promotes Pizza Hut and Duracell. And over the past few months, he has repeatedly clashed with YouTuber-turned-wrestler Logan Paul, a feud that reportedly escalated around the World Cup final, though the precise nature of the confrontation remains unclear from available reporting.

Now Brady is reportedly in talks over a WWE appearance, a move that has drawn public mockery. Florio, however, suggested the ridicule may be missing the point. As the Daily Mail reported, Florio laid out two competing theories on air:

"There are two ways of looking at this. One, it's a sort of bizarre mid-life crisis for Tom Brady, it's an exercise in ego, can't get enough, got to do more."

But Florio did not stop there. He pivoted to the second interpretation, the political one.

"There's also a chance it is part of a broader plan. Is Tom Brady trying to cosy up to the wrestling base when it comes to for running for office? I did research this morning and the idea of Tom Brady running for president is not some new thing."

Florio noted that an article written after Brady's Super Bowl victory with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had described him as an ideal presidential candidate "at the appropriate time." He did not name the outlet or author. The question of whether celebrities and athletes belong in politics is hardly academic anymore, as actor Billy Bob Thornton recently argued, there is a growing divide over whether fame qualifies anyone for public office.

Bankman-Fried's jailhouse endorsement raises more questions than it answers

The FTX connection is the strangest thread in the whole theory. Brady was an ambassador and sponsor of FTX, once one of the world's most popular cryptocurrency exchanges before it unraveled in spectacular fashion. Brady lost the value of the shares he received through that sponsorship deal. Bankman-Fried, his former business partner, is now behind bars.

Florio acknowledged the baggage but seemed puzzled that it has not stuck to Brady the way it might have to someone else.

"I don't know how that hasn't stuck to Brady in the way that it should but that's a different issue. He did lose the value of the shares that he got when he became a sponsor of FTX."

That is a fair observation. A man who lent his name and credibility to a platform whose founder was convicted of massive fraud would normally face harder questions in a political campaign. Whether Brady was a victim or a willing participant in FTX's marketing machine, the association would be opposition-research gold for any rival.

Still, Florio argued that the modern political landscape has lowered the traditional barriers to entry. The NFL world is no stranger to figures whose off-field lives generate as much attention as their professional careers, as recent NFL-related headlines have shown.

"So, hey, we know how the world is now. You don't have to be a career politician. You don't have to have any experience running anything. Brady at least has experience in business, experience in sports, life experiences, name recognition."

What Brady himself has not said matters most

For all of Florio's speculation, one detail stands out: Brady has said nothing publicly about running for office. No statement. No exploratory committee. No stump speech. The entire theory rests on an insider's reading of Brady's career moves, a convicted fraudster's reported enthusiasm, and a years-old article Florio could not fully identify on air.

Brady's personal life has also been in transition. He divorced supermodel Gisele Bundchen in late 2022 after 13 years of marriage. They share two children. Earlier this year, Brady was linked with influencer Alix Earle after the two were spotted together at a New Year's Eve party and a Super Bowl event. None of that screams "campaign launch."

Florio closed with a line that landed somewhere between hope and a joke:

"Maybe that's the play. And the good news would be if he ever would run for president and win, maybe at that point Tom Brady would focus on one job and one job only."

It was a dig at Brady's habit of juggling careers, football, broadcasting, ownership, endorsements, and now possibly wrestling, but it also captured the essential weakness of the theory. A man spreading himself across half a dozen ventures does not look like someone preparing to focus on the hardest job in the world.

Name recognition wins attention. It does not win elections. If Brady ever does step into the arena, he will need more than a highlight reel and a WWE entrance, he will need answers about FTX, about policy, and about why voters should trust a man who has never once asked for their vote.