The article I posted just before starting on this one pointed out that Tom Brady earned $2.998 million in the fiscal year ending February 29, 2020 in money-for-nothing marketing and royalty payments via the NFL. That, along with the rest of his holdings, did not stop his zealously promoted (by him) lifestyle brand from accepting money for nothing from the federal government after the pandemic struck.
Via NBC Sports Boston, the Boston Sports Journal reported on Monday that TB12 received a Paycheck Protection Program loan in the range of $350,000 and $1 million. The figure comes from federal data made public on Monday.
The so-called PPP program provided relief to small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. To get the money, TB12 had to apply through the Small Business Administration. The TB12 Performance & Recovery Centers were temporarily closed during the pandemic.
Brady surely wasn’t the only many-times-over millionaire who owns a company that checked a few boxes and filled in a few figures to get some of the billions that Uncle Sam was handing out at the height of the financial crisis the pandemic spawned. However, the fact that someone can get federal money made available during an emergency represents a question separate and apart from whether someone should.