NFL Star Tom Brady Gets Involved in Motorsport as a Hertz Team JOTA Partner

The legendary football quarterback announced his retirement from the NFL this year after playing for the New England Patriots for 20 seasons. He did the same last year, but this time, his retirement is for good, with seven Super Bowl titles and three MVP awards under his belt.

After his retirement, he gets more time to focus on his other business ventures. Sure, Brady is a millionaire thanks to his many years as an athlete. But he is also a businessman.

He launched his own fitness and nutrition brand, TB12, in 2016, alongside his trainer, Alex Guerrero. In 2020, he added a production company to his name, 199 Productions, and a sport-centric NFT platform Autograph, launched in 2021. In January 2022, Brady also started an apparel brand, Brady Brand. The latter has now received a great deal.

Because BRADY™ will become the official apparel partner for the Hertz Team JOTA. The partnership with the famous car rental company is not a surprise, since they joined forces in late 2021 in an effort to launch a massive rental campaign together for electric cars, with several ads already released.

Starting in 2023, Jota Sport, which is the reigning WEC LMP2 champion, will enter the FIA World Endurance Championship with a new name, Hertz Team JOTA.

It will also race the Porsche 963 LMDh racing car in the Hypercar class with a Hertz livery, marking "the company's return to premium motorsports and underscores Hertz’s commitment to speed, reliability, and innovation, both on and off the track," as per Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr.

Antonio Felix da Costa, Will Stevens, and Yifei Ye drive for the team, with Dieter Gass as Team Principal. Starting this year, they will be getting some champion spirit thanks to Tom Brady’s BRADY™ clothing line, dubbed the Official Apparel Partner.

Singer Group from the famous Singer Vehicle Design is also a partner. Famous for its Porsche 911 redesigns, the American company was also in charge of the "Mighty 38" Porsche 963 LMDh racing car’s livery, choosing a Hertz racing gold, with Singer's logo on the vehicle, alongside Hertz, and clothing partner Tom Brady's brand.

What inspired him to create the livery was a chance "to recognize both the past and the future," Founder of the Singer Group Rob Dickinson said, crediting drivers like Derek Bell, Hurley Haywood, and Jacky Ickx as "heroes" who won races in the "golden era" for Porsche and also to celebrate the centenary year of the Le Mans 24.

Dickinson added about the design that "this golden livery celebrates all those who have competed at the highest levels of endurance racing, Hertz Team JOTA’s first campaign in the World Endurance Championship, and the Porsche 963’s role in driving the development of renewable fuels and hybrid technology. Spending time with this fabulous racing car gives us so much inspiration and learning. We can’t wait for the first race.”

The "Mighty 38" Porsche 963 hypercar with a hybrid system is rated at 671 horsepower (680 ps).

The racer was officially unveiled during a launch event on Wednesday, March 1, in London, United Kingdom.

The former NFL star shared his excitement over the partnership, adding that he’s “been a fan of motor racing for a long time.” For him, having BRADY™ now be a part of Hertz Team JOTA as the future of motorsport apparel and design “is a dream come true”.

He continued, “BRADY brand and Hertz are both companies that are focused on innovation and providing a seamless experience, and this partnership is the perfect example of two companies coming together with similar initiatives and goals in mind. BRADY’s core values and key pillars include teamwork, endurance, longevity, and greatness, making this an ideal collaboration.”

Hertz Team JOTA will make its debut at the FIA World Endurance Championship season-opener at the 1000 Miles of Sebring, taking place on March 17 in Florida.

The "Mighty 38" Porsche 963 will miss the first round of races due to Porsche's supply chain delays, but the team will race with a pair of LMP2 ORECA-Gibson 07.

Formula 2 German driver David Beckmann will also join Hertz Team JOTA for the upcoming race. He is currently Porsche's reserve driver in Formula E. He will also drive for the team at Portimao in Portugal on April 16, although it's unclear who of the current drivers will race alongside him.

As per Brady’s words, the team intends to compete at the “iconic” Le Mans 24 Hours later this year.

Hertz Team JOTA is a British racing team founded in 2000 by Sam Hignett and John Stack as "Team Jota." The current champion of the LMP2 FIA World Endurance Champions, in the last nine years, it secured ten podiums at the Le Mans 24 Hours.