Seven Super Bowl rings, five Super Bowl MVPs, and countless accolades in between – Tom Brady is considered by many football fans as the GOAT (greatest of all time), but has since retired… then came back to the NFL… then retired again. Brady may have hung up his football cleats, but he’s now taking that competitive edge into new ventures – the latest as a team owner of the UIM E1 World Championship electric boat racing league.
The UIM E1 World Championship is a young electric boat racing league that continues to grow its roster of recognizable team owners as it prepares to launch its inaugural season later this year.
Long before Tom Brady joined the fold, the league began with some star power in its own right, having been created by Formula E and Extreme E founder, Alejandro Agag, and Rodi Basso – a former director of Motorsport at McLaren with a background in Formula 1 engineering.
We’ve watched E1 test its all-electric RaceBird boats, designed by Sophi Horne (seen below) as its owners have worked to lock in race locations and electric boat racing teams. Venice emerged as the inaugural E1 team back in April of 2022, followed by team Mexico owned by Formula 1 driver Sergio Perez.
Early this year, we shared news that tennis great Rafael Nadal had signed on as an E1 owner of Team Spain, bringing some athletic celebrity from outside the world of motorsports. This past May, former Chelsea and Ivory Coast footballer Didier Drogba and his partner Gabrielle LeMaire signed on as owners of the fourth E1 racing team.
With plans to initially have ten racing teams compete this year, the UIM E1 World Championship founders still have some slots to fill, but they’ve just landed their largest signing to date as sure-fire NFL hall of famer and entrepreneur Tom Brady is officially a team owner.
Tom Brady brings a personal spotlight to a nascent league
The E1 series shared news of its latest team owner signing in a press release this morning, outlining the laundry list of accomplishments Tom Brady has garnered in his decades long football career, as well as his countless ventures off the playing field in film production, marketing, apparel, and wellness.
Born in California, Brady has carried a passion for sustainability and the ocean with him throughout his life – a large factor in his decision to join E1… that and the opportunity to win yet another championship in competitive sports. UIM E1 World Championship cofounder and CEO Rodi Basso spoke to the validity Tom Brady brings to a blossoming new sport:
It is an incredible privilege to welcome a sporting legend to the UIM E1 World Championship. But for Tom Brady, it’s not just about his sporting legacy and success, he wants to leave a positive impact and inspire the next generation which resonates so much with our DNA at the UIM E1 World Championship. Tom is also super enthusiastic about the design, technology, and performance behind our RaceBirds. But as important as racing is our commitment to sustainability and social impact, and Tom is very passionate about the planned Acceleration Festivals at our races, which will showcase start ups and developments in the clean tech industries everywhere we go. Tom is so aligned with our principles and vision for sport and impact.
E1 shared that as a team owner, Brady hopes to inspire future generations towards innovation and action for a sustainable future. No word yet on the details of the new team, but it will assumedly be representing the US; whether that means the entire country, a specific state, or a single city remains unclear.
It’s very possible we see additional US-based athletes join the racing league before it begins, and cofounder and chairman Alejandro Agag hinted as much:
It’s great to welcome Tom Brady to the UIM E1 World Championship. Tom is a winner and will bring his incredible spirit to our races. Alongside Rafael Nadal, Didier Drogba, Sergio Perez and other big names that we will announce soon, he will be fighting for victory at every race. To have a personality like Tom is a huge boost for the UIM E1 World Championship.
The founders better get a move on in adding more teams, though. The inaugural UIM E1 World Championship race is scheduled to take place September 1-3 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.