From investments and wellness brands to sports ownership and media projects, Tom Brady has managed to remain a fixture in headlines long after leaving the NFL.
But his latest move, a collaboration with a biotech company to clone his late dog, has pushed even his most loyal fans to raise their eyebrows.
A few weeks ago, Brady revealed that his new dog, Junie, is a genetic clone of his old companion, Luna, who died in 2023.
The quarterback partnered with Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based company known for its ambitious genetic research, to make the duplication possible.
The announcement was made with the kind of fanfare one might expect for a major philanthropic initiative, but the reaction online was far from celebratory.
Social media users and sports commentators were stunned by the revelation, with many questioning not only the morality of cloning a deceased pet but also the broader implications of such technology.
Former PFF analyst Sam Monson mocked the decision on X, writing sarcastically, “Not at all insane.” The Ringer‘s Diante Lee added, “Being rich means never knowing when you look like a lunatic,” while ESPN‘s Marcel Louis-Jacques simply responded, “wtf did I just read.”
A cloned dog and an ethical firestorm
The backlash highlighted a growing discomfort with the intersection of wealth, technology, and moral boundaries. Many critics pointed out that while millions of stray dogs wait for adoption, Brady had instead opted to replicate his late pet.
Others argued that the project symbolized how extreme privilege can normalize behavior that would otherwise seem absurd.
For Brady, however, the announcement was presented as a heartfelt gesture rather than a publicity stunt. Luna had been a beloved part of his family for years, and Junie‘s arrival seemed to him a continuation of that bond. But to much of the public, it came across as a troubling example of how easily science can blur into spectacle.
The company behind the clone
Colossal Biosciences, the firm that helped create Junie, isn’t exactly new to controversy. Founded by Ben Lamm, the company first gained attention for its bold mission to “de-extinct” species such as the woolly mammoth and the dodo bird using preserved DNA. Now, with Brady‘s dog serving as an example of its capabilities, the conversation has veered into far more unsettling territory.
In a recent interview, Lamm admitted that the technology his company has developed could, in theory, be used to clone humans.
“I do think that the technologies that we have, we could clone humans. We are not, obviously,” Lamm said. “The technologies that we have and are developing, you could bring, just depending on what the DNA preservation of someone like Albert Einstein is, could you bring back some of those people. Yes, would they be the same people? No. They’re genetically the same, but they don’t have the same behaviors.”
While he repeatedly emphasized that Colossal is “not advocating” for human or primate cloning, Lamm‘s statements offered little comfort to skeptics. He added that such ideas are sometimes “spun out” or licensed under “different governance” – a vague phrase that, if anything, deepened public concern.
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