Tom Brady Shook the Anime Community With Just One Podcast Appearance

Even two years after retiring, Tom Brady’s popularity remains unrivaled in the NFL. And it’s easy to see why. The undisputed GOAT has rewritten the game’s history by winning seven Super Bowls, amassing 89,214 career passing yards, and a lot more. But just when you thought his influence was limited to the gridiron, the Patriots legend managed to shake a completely different corner of the world: the anime community.

In his recent appearance on The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast, Brady didn’t walk in wearing a tailored suit or a minimalist designer tee like he usually does.

Instead, the former Buccaneers quarterback arrived in a shirt featuring three of One Piece’s most recognizable figures: Monkey D. Luffy, Eustass Kid, and Trafalgar Law — the “Worst Generation” trio beloved by fans worldwide.

Longtime fans of Tom Brady were not entirely surprised by this. The 48-year-old had previously shared that his middle son, Benjamin, is a passionate anime fan and that he’s all-in on supporting that interest. He had even joked earlier this year about opening an anime studio with his son someday.

Still, for most people, especially those away from the NFL world, seeing Tom Brady in One Piece gear during a mainstream sports interview was totally unexpected. And the internet reacted accordingly.

“Makes sense, the goat would like the goat series,” wrote a Redditor, reacting to Brady’s shirt. “This is straight up the last person I would expect to be into One Piece,” added another, in surprise.

Meanwhile, a Patrick Mahomes supporter said: “As a Chiefs fan I hate this guy but this is cool af.” Even Brady’s haters couldn’t help but laud the NFL legend for his shirt choice. “Not even fan Brady, but atleast he has good taste,” wrote one.

Beyond memes and shocked fan posts, the NFL legend’s shirt choice has the potential to cause a ripple effect, far beyond the football and anime crossover fandom.

Popular pop culture creator Timothy Flick, better known as “Goatbreakers,” explained how most people don’t fully grasp the behind-the-scenes significance.

According to Flick, this wasn’t just Brady “walking in, doing this normal interview, just wearing the massive shirt with Luffy on it.” Even something so simple, he pointed out, likely required licensing approval and sign-offs from “managers and different levels telling you what you can and cannot do.”

From there, Flick noted, the companies involved will see it as a green light to push anime even harder into mainstream spaces. “They’re seeing popularity increase, and they’re seeing anime become this large-scale commodity that they can now tap into,” he added.

As per the content creator, this could accelerate what he calls the “corporate anime machine,” which he believes will “churn like never before.”

And the real-world impact? Flick expects “a drastic increase in dub watches” because for newcomers, drawn in by seeing someone like Tom Brady sporting anime merch, the first instinct will be to find the most accessible version.

“New people… just want the lowest barrier of entry to this new medium they’re getting exposed to. So… if it’s in Japanese, they’re going to switch it to English,” Flick explained, predicting that English-dubbed anime could now see “a lot more traction” as a result.

This potential ripple effect is a reminder for marketers that cultural influence doesn’t always require a campaign or a partnership. Sometimes, it’s just about the right person, wearing the right shirt at the right time.

Here, the platform is also key because the GOAT wore his anime shirt on a college football podcast, which primarily has a younger audience — the age demographic of most anime fans.

Regardless, the real winner of this chain of events is the anime community, especially One Piece, because this endorsement means more eyes, more discussion, and more growth.

As for Tom Brady? It’s just another instance of doing what he’s done throughout his career: changing the game without even breaking a sweat.