Sam Bankman-Fried trial sparks backlash from Tom Brady over FTX founder paying NFL icon $55 million a year for 20 hours USD fee

NFL personality Tom Brady has been slammed by fans for allegedly helping Sam Bankman-Freed shuffle his now-bankrupt cryptocurrency business.

One writer following Bankman-Fried’s complex story claims the New England Patriots quarterback was paid $55 million in just 20 hours promoting FTX.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s long-awaited trial begins on Tuesday.

He is accused of masterminding a multibillion-dollar scheme that resulted in the theft of numerous customers’ investments on his cryptocurrency platform.

His cryptocurrency trading company FTX (now defunct) once had millions of active users.

But in November 2022, people began to pull away after an explosive report showed that the company was not solvent enough to meet its financial commitments.

FTX was almost acquired by rival Binance, but the company backed out of the deal after claiming FTX funds were mismanaged.

In December 2022, SBF was arrested at its $300 million Bahamas property.

Prosecutors plan to paint the tech billionaire as a Bernie Madoff-style liar desperate to protect his company’s image.

His alleged behavior is at the center of Going Infinite, a book by financial journalist Michael Lewis that is known as The Underbelly, The Big Short and Moneyball. name.

In the book, Lewis claims he saw internal documents showing SBF reaching out to superstar athletes to encourage people to use FTX and improve their images.

The PR strategy of trying to distract from unsavory business practices is a classic technique known as movement cleansing.

The company’s talent roster includes Brady, Shaquille O’Neill, and Steph Curry, all of whom were paid handsomely to encourage onlookers to trade cryptocurrencies on FTX.

“He spent over $100 million to buy the naming rights to the Miami Heat home arena,” Lewis told reporters. 60 minutes.

“He spent $25 million on a Super Bowl commercial with Larry Davis… It’s amazing what’s on this list.”

Lewis speculated that Tom Brady “adores” the CEO and pursues PR opportunities for more than just the money.

“Tom Brady thinks he’s a very interesting guy,” Lewis said.

“I think he liked what he had to say and Sam liked him too.”

Fans mocked Brady’s relationship with Bankman-Freed after he and his ex-wife Gisele Bundchen lost $48 million in stock following bankruptcy.

One person said: “If I could make $55 million a week, I would have a lot of idols.” wrote on X.

Another said: “Well that takes Old Tom down a few notches.”

“Tom Brady is stupid. Very good at football, but not smart,” someone else said in the X post.

SBF’s team plans to pin the blame on FTX lawyers and his ex-girlfriend, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, while he works to prove his innocence.

He has been detained since August 11 after a judge found he may have been involved in witness tampering.

The trial is expected to last up to six weeks.

Bankman-Fried was also accused of living in a polyamorous group that helped him run his business.