Legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady doesn’t play on Sundays anyore, retiring after a storied NFL career that saw him win a record seven Super Bowls. However, Brady is still as big a presence as ever in North American sports.
The three-time MVP is now a member of the Las Vegas Raiders as a minority owner, and also calls NFL games for FOX as a part of the network’s top broadcast team. Brady isn’t only involved in American football either, in 2023, he bought a minority stake in Birmingham City Football Club.
He recently shared his thoughts on what it’ll take for soccer to become as big in America as it is in other countries around the world.
“I think the reality for most athletes in America is these other sports just become very dominant because of culturally what’s on television all the time,” Brady said, according to Awful Announcing. “And what’s being talked about in the schoolyard ends up often being talked about American football, basketball, baseball, hockey. And it’s an amazing sport. It’s a global sport.
“It’s the biggest sport in the world. We all love it. And the reality is, you think about boxing, when there’s an American heavyweight, everyone in America is all in on it. And we need the youth in America in soccer. We need a young phenom like a Lamine Yamal, a young Lionel Messi, to take over.
“And I believe that there will be the most amazing kind of cultural revolution for soccer here in America. We love rooting for winners. We love rooting for the best of the best. The World Cup is coming to America in 2026. You can’t imagine the fanfare when that happens. Every stadium will be sold out. The American audience loves it.”
Fans reacted to Brady’s statement on social media.
“Brady is a FRAUD!!!! Stupid American money!!” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“It’s going to be nice to see europe hate tom brady as much as the rest of america has for the last 2 decades,” someone else added.
“Tom Brady is a genius, not sure why we haven’t thought of this,” someone else said sarcastically.
It’ll be interesting to see if America ever gets the sort of talent Brady is hoping for.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.