Ryan Reynolds And Rob McElhenney Get The Last Laugh As Tom Brady Exits Birmingham

Tom Brady's shock exit puts Ryan Reynolds in spotlight© X formally Twitter

Tom Brady is leaving Birmingham City, and he picked an odd moment to go. The club announced the news on Monday with the Blues first in the Championship on 29 points. Birmingham thanked him for his "unwavering support" over three years. talkSPORT columnist Brian T. Smith writes that Brady walked away just as a Premier League place, and a payday of about $269 million, came into view. Brady has not publicly commented on his exit.

Birmingham's statement and Brian T. Smith's criticism of Tom Brady

The club kept its message gracious. "Birmingham City Football Club expresses its sincere gratitude to Tom Brady for his involvement with and unwavering support for the club over the last three years," it said. "It was truly amazing to have someone with Tom's experience and passion associated with the club, and the club looks forward to continuing to build on that foundation from the training ground to the Birmingham community."

Smith did not share that warmth. He questions how deep Brady's commitment ran, and he notes that promotion takes far more than 15 matches. Brady already earns a $375 million deal calling NFL games for FOX, so Smith rules out money as the reason. He does admit there may be more to the story.

Brady's own words from the Amazon series Built In Birmingham: Brady & The Blues add fuel. "The reality is, it's been a s*** year," he said in Episode 1. He also said, "What's the problem? Is it the players or the coach? Well, we've already changed the coaches. It's really the players." Back then he called the squad lazy and entitled.

Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and the Wrexham comparison

Smith holds up Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney as the opposite example. The Hollywood owners of Wrexham, he writes, have shown up for the club, its fans and the town through good times and bad. Wrexham sit 15th in the Championship, and manager Phil Parkinson often gets asked about his future. Welcome To Wrexham is expected to run for eight seasons.

Reynolds weighed in after Birmingham climbed above his club. "Congrats to our Emmy-winning doc team, the town, and Wrexham AFC for always making things so dramatic and stressy. Good for TV, bad for blood pressure," he posted.

The two clubs had a friendly rivalry before this. After Birmingham beat Wrexham 2-0 last April, Brady posted, "It's always more fun to beat your friends."

Birmingham now carry on without their best-known investor, with promotion still the goal.