The fallout from the implosion of crypto giant FTX has triggered a cascade of wide-reaching effects and emotions.
Superstar celebrities like NFL quarterback Tom Brady are facing lawsuits for endorsing failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. It was back in December last year when lawyers filed a class action lawsuit against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and a host of celebrities like Brady.
Now that Brady has been named as a defendant in a class-action lawsuit against the crypto brand he promoted, more information is coming out on how Brady felt when everything imploded as he was one of their biggest investors, reportedly owning more than a million shares of the common stock, worth around $45 million.
His commitment is now nothing after the company filed for bankruptcy.
Brady is not facing criminal charges, but his name has come up several times in lawsuits because he was heavily promoting them. One commercial even had him and his ex-wife Gisele Bundchen in it.
Last year, once news came down about FTX, Brady urgently made a phone call.
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According to the New York Times:
“As the FTX cryptocurrency exchange imploded last fall, Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback, made an urgent phone call.”
“He dialed Sina Nader, FTX’s head of partnerships. The exchange’s staff was in the middle of a crisis meeting with its beleaguered founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. Mr. Nader couldn’t answer. “I never would’ve expected to decline a call from Tom Brady,” he said.”
“He was concerned,” Mr. Nader said. “The very first thing he asked me was: ‘Sina, how are you doing? I know you put your heart and soul into this.’ ” “
Daniel Kaplan of TheAthletic.com reported a court filing showing that more than six attempts were made to serve free-agent quarterback Tom Brady. Eventually, Brady instructed his lawyers to accept a request for waiver of service.
Other defendants who eventually were served, directly or through waiver of service, include Brady’s ex-wife, Gisele Bundchen, comedian Larry David, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, baseball star Shohei Omani, and NBA star Steph Curry.
The lawsuit accuses the celebrity endorsers of failing to disclose that they were compensated to promote FTX, arguing that FTX accounts were opened in response to the urgings of celebrities.
Brady had a massive deal with FTX, but the equity he received in exchange for lending his name to the platform has now become worthless.
