Tom Brady's Birmingham City FC Relegated from EFL Championship to League One

It didn't take long for NFL legend Tom Brady to experience the roller-coaster ride of club ownership.

Brady is part of the group that purchased Birmingham City Football Club last August and he presumably watched from afar Saturday as the Blues were relegated from the EFL Championship.

Thanks to his fame and success on the gridiron, Brady's arrival was treated like a big deal despite him only obtaining a minority stake.

An official statement said the seven-time Super Bowl champion "will apply his extensive leadership experience and expertise across several components of the Club, including working alongside the sports science department to advise on health, nutrition, wellness, and recovery systems and programs."

Brady and Tom Wagner, the club's chairman of the board, didn't make a strong first impression, however.

Sacking manager John Eustace in October didn't go down well among the supporter base. At the time, Birmingham was sitting sixth in the Championship table and had realistic ambitions of getting promoted back to the Premier League.

Instead, moving on from Eustace and subsequently hiring Wayne Rooney as his successor proved to be a pivotal moment. Rooney got the boot in January after notching just two wins to nine losses in his 15 matches in charge. That run sent Birmingham tumbling down the table and into a relegation fight.

In defense of Brady and Wagner, Birmingham's relegation has been a long time coming thanks to dysfunction that predated their tenures. The club finished 17th or worse in each of the last seven seasons.

Finally going down to League One might be beneficial from the standpoint that Birmingham might be able to lay a more solid foundation. The effects of constantly fighting for survival were evident in the short-term mindset the club adopted. Now, Brady and Wagner have an opportunity to sketch out a more permanent vision.