Report: Tom Brady Using Upwards of $2.75m of Another Charity's Money to Fuel His Own

Tom Brady's charitable side has come into question after the Boston Globe reported Saturday that his own charity organization was receiving huge payments from Best Buddies, a charity that he helps support.

Best Buddies, a nonprofit dedicated to helping developmentally disabled people, has paid Brady's Change the World Foundation Trust upwards of $2.75 million in what appears to be a kind of kickback for Brady's work. According to the Globe's findings, this constitutes the majority of Brady's charity funding by a large margin—an estimated 80 percent of funds raised from 2005 to 2015. While the payments appear to be legal—and with the money being distributed to various charities in turn—the source of Brady's generosity appears to be not entirely his own.

From the Globe:

Brady "really can't take credit for being a great philanthropist when he is using other people's money to help his own organizations,'' said Daniel Borochoff, president of Charity Watch, a Chicago-based nonprofit that evaluates philanthropies and advocates for consumers. "It's certainly not pure altruism.''

Brady's foundation has donated to over 30 charities of Brady's own personal choosing, including his children's private schools, donations to his football friends' charities, his former high school (which received the majority of his donations from 2011-2015), the Dana-Farber Cancer Center, and the nursing facility of his late grandfather. His foundation has largely de-prioritized donating to organizations aiding people with disabilities, according to the Globe.

Since 2001, Brady has helped Best Buddies raise nearly $46.5 million. But Best Buddies has paid Brady's foundation that $2.75 million since 2011, and has pledged to pay an additional $500,000 in 2017. While you certainly can't fault Brady for being uncharitable, the argument here is that he could be helping Best Buddies even further by not accepting their payments. And by filling his charity's coffers with his own damn money.