REVEALED: Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried paid Tom Brady $55 MILLION for doing a week’s worth of work over a three-year period, Moneyball author claims
Sam Bankman-Fried paid Tom Brady $55 million for the equivalent of a week’s work promoting his failed cryptocurrency platform FTX, the Moneyball author claims.
Bankman-Fried recruited the ex-NFL star as an ambassador for FTX and he did about “20 hours (of work) a year for three years,” according to author Michael Lewis.
Lewis, who shadowed Bankman-Fried, said Brady got $55 million for the deal and the pair struck up an unlikely friendship in the process.
Brady was left ‘crushed’ when FTX collapsed – owing customers billions of dollars – and Bankman-Fried was charged with fraud.
He denies the charges and a trial is set to begin in New York City on Tuesday. Lewis told CBS’ 60 minutes: “(Brady) really loved him and he really loved the hope he brought.
Brady posed with Sam Bankman-Fried during a meeting between the pair. Brady was an ambassador for FTX and was reportedly paid $55 million for approximately 60 hours of work
Tom Brady posed with a flamethrower for a commercial promoting the FTX crypto exchange
“As time goes on and he doesn’t get a really good explanation of what happened, I think (Brady) says something like, ‘He tricked me.’ I am angry. I don’t want anything to do with it anymore.’
Brady was one of many A-list celebrities to receive tens of millions of dollars from FTX and Bankman-Fried. Lewis said NBA star Steph Curry was paid $10 million and Larry David was paid $10 million to do a Super Bowl commercial for the platform.
Brady’s ex-wife Gisele Bundchen was also an ambassador, along with NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal.
Lewis said it was “funny” to see Brady and Bankman-Fried interact, adding, “It’s like the class nerd and the quarterback.
“The quarterback likes him somehow, and he likes the quarterback back somehow.
Brady’s ex-wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, was also an ambassador for FTX. She can be seen on stage with Sam Bankman-Fried at the Crypto Bahamas event in 2022. The FTX chief looked uncomfortable as he opted for his usual outfit of scruffy shorts and a T-shirt.
Steph Curry also promoted FTX and appeared in an ad telling viewers: ‘I’m not an expert and I don’t have to be, with FTX I have everything I need to buy, sell and trade crypto safely’
“Even the nerds don’t hang out with this nerd, he’s such a nerd.”
The development as Bankman-Fried’s trial is about to begin comes after a former software engineer worked at FTX‘s sister trading firm poured cold water on rumors of sex orgies at Sam Bankman-Fried’s luxurious Bahamas penthouse.
Ex-Alameda Research employee Aditya Baradwaj, who earlier last year gave an inside story on the disgraced company’s collapse, has now said he is “confident” there were no polyamorous relationships at the Albany Marina -area.
Stories about top executives at bankrupt crypto giant Bankman-Fried, 31, being in a ‘polycule’ of 10 people were sparked by the CEO’s ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, 28, after she went online about her ‘foray into poly ‘ had written.
But the rumors surrounding the cabal of crypto nerds holding orgies in the Nassau Island penthouse are far from the truth, according to Baradwaj, who lived next door and said it was more likely they were playing board games.
“When there were orgies, I lived next door,” Baradwaj told the newspaper New York Post. “I would have heard it from my balcony.”
Aditya Baradwaj (pictured), a former software engineer who worked at the sister trading firm of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has poured cold water on rumors of sex orgies at Sam Bankman-Fried’s luxury penthouse in the Bahamas
Bankman-Fried (pictured) – whose net worth peaked at an astonishing $26 billion – was accused of defrauding investors after allegedly stealing billions of dollars and spending tens of millions on political donations. He has denied being guilty of all charges
Stories about top executives of bankrupt Bankman-Fried crypto giant being in a ‘polycule’ were fueled by the CEO’s ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison (pictured), after she wrote online about her ‘foray into poly’
“If you gave them some alcohol and left them alone in a room, they would start playing board games,” he added. “I’m confident there was no polycule.”
DailyMail.com contacted lawyers for Bankman-Fried and Ellison, who did not immediately comment.
Baradwaj previously said he realized FTX was on the brink of bankruptcy when a company credit card used to order takeout was declined – after years of showering employees with extravagant benefits.
Ellison, who blamed Bankman-Fried for the failed FTX crypto exchange, wrote on her Tumblr account in February 2020 that she was taking a “foray into poly,” referring to the practice of having multiple partners.
The bespectacled Stanford graduate also said that anyone in a polyamorous relationship should have a “ranking of their partners” and “a vicious power struggle for higher ranks.”
Ellison also wrote that characteristics of “cute” boyfriends include having “control over most major world governments” and “enough power to physically overwhelm you.”
In another post in March, she wrote: “I didn’t go into this as a true crypto believer. When you look deeper into it, it’s mostly scams and memes.”
Ellison allegedly dated Bankman-Fried while she and eight others involved in their businesses lived in a house in the Bahamas.
Bankman-Fried put his luxury penthouse in the Bahamas up for sale for $40 million after the company filed for bankruptcy on Friday. (Pictured: a view of the interior of the penthouse)
Rumors about the cabal of crypto nerds having orgies in the Bahamas penthouse are far from the truth, according to Baradwaj, who said it was more likely they were playing board games. (Pictured: A bedroom in the luxurious ‘orgy’ penthouse in the Bahamas)
According to a report on Coindesk, all ten were “linked together” in romantic relationships, although it is not clear whether they were monogamous or not.
She will now testify against him as a key witness in the bomb trial that starts next week.
Bankman-Fried – whose net worth peaked at an astonishing $26 billion – was accused of defrauding investors after allegedly stealing billions of dollars and spending tens of millions on political donations.
Once seen as an ethical pioneer in the cryptocurrency space, the 31-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all charges as he awaits trial from prison this month.
The next chapter in his fall from wealth begins Tuesday, when personal details about his life will be sorted out in a New York City court.
Jurors will be selected on October 3 and the trial is expected to last about six weeks.