WWE superstar Cody Rhodes hosted a special live broadcast of his podcast in New York City on Thursday with football legend Tom Brady at Fanatics Fest.
Rhodes’ podcast, dubbed “What Do You Want to Talk About?” took place inside the Jacob Javits Center for the annual sporting event and saw the wrestling icon sit down with the football Hall of Famer to discuss everything from athleticism to collecting trading cards.
The pair also spoke about an aspect that affects almost everyone in every line of work: motivation.
“I had made it to the mountaintop, the biggest goal my family ever had in WWE, which was the WWE Championship. I feel motivated. I feel like I want more. I feel like I’m still incredibly hungry. But what was it for you that drove you to keep going?” Rhodes asked.
Brady, who played in the NFL for 23 seasons and won seven Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, shared he found motivation from within, but through the help of others.
“I always felt like the best motivation for me, and people can use this in business a lot because I think this is really important. I think the motivation that I always had was that I never wanted to let my teammates down. So, you never want to let your boss down, your coworker down. You never want to let your family down. There’s a lot of people counting on you in life. They’re counting on you to be consistent. They’re counting on you to be dependable,” Brady said. “But for me personally, the best motivation I ever had was people are counting on me, and people believed in me, and then they gave me an opportunity, and I didn’t want to let them down.”
During their conversation, Rhodes also asked Brady for his thoughts on forced motivation in youth sports and whether today’s emphasis on early specialization helps or hurts young athletes, specifically referencing his nephew, who already plays travel baseball, and asking for advice on pursuing athletic dreams.
“You talked about youth sports and how active you’ve been in encouraging young athletes,” Rhodes said. “My nephew is on a travel ball team, and kids are starting younger than ever. You didn’t start playing football until high school. Do you think there’s a better path, or does it come down to finding what you love at a young age?”
Brady encouraged children to focus on enjoying sports rather than chasing a career too early, arguing that young athletes benefit more from variety than specialization.
“I would always encourage kids to do what they love,” Brady said. “They also need a little bit of a break from time to time. Overstressing a young mind or body with one sport isn’t the answer. I think it’s really important to try a lot of different sports.”
The seven-time Super Bowl champion reflected on his own childhood, explaining that baseball, not football, was actually his first passion.
“I loved baseball growing up,” he said. “I thought I wanted to be a professional baseball player. Then I got to high school, played football at 14, and fell in love with it.”
Brady shared that playing baseball, basketball, and football helped him develop a range of skills and become a better all-around athlete, adding that he didn’t fully specialize in football until college and still enjoyed playing other sports whenever he could.
He also urged parents not to feel pressured by expensive travel leagues or coaches who insist children must train year-round.
“Play lots of sports. Enjoy them,” Brady said. “Don’t worry about coaches who tell you that you need to practice nine hours a day when you’re 11 years old. That’s bullsh*t. Parents, don’t get bullied by crazy leagues that you have to pay a ton of money to. If you’re good, you can develop those skills in your neighborhood, find a coach, and work with them a little bit.”
As he spoke, the crowd, which was filled with parents and their excited children, nodded in agreement when he said that athletic development takes time and should be fueled by passion rather than pressure.
“Build into the love of it,” he said. “It’s not going to happen instantaneously. It’s going to happen over a period of time, and you’re going to learn a lot about yourself along the journey.”
Rhodes echoed the message, reminding the crowd that sports should ultimately be about having fun, a sentiment Brady carried into his closing remarks as he thanked fans and organizers for making Fanatics Fest a celebration of sports, entertainment, and collecting.
