News of NFL legend Tom Brady cloning his deceased dog hasn’t had quite the impact that it might have were it a slower NFL day. But for those not locked in on the approach of the NFL trade deadline, it has made some uncomfortable and some curious.
“Tom Brady revealed that his current dog Junie is a clone of his late dog Lua, who died in December 2023, per @baileykrich (of People),” Bleacher Report wrote earlier today. “The dogs were cloned by Colossal Biosciences, a biotech company that Brady is an investor in, using blood collected prior to Lua’s death.”
That news has some fans wondering if ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit might look into that. Last year his beloved dog Ben died at the age of 10 from cancer.
Herbstreit and his dogs
Kirk Herbstreit has enjoyed bringing his dogs – Ben and now Peter – with him to the sets of College GameDay and even into the broadcast booth. For many, it’s fun. For others, it’s annoying.
As a result, the common response to the news as it relates to Herbstreit is people hoping he does NOT see it, presumably so he doesn’t try to clone Ben and bring him onto the sets repeatedly.
“Please, for the love of God, don’t let Kirk Herbstreit see this,” one user wrote on X.
“oh god please nobody show this to kirk herbstreit,” wrote another.
“Please keep this info away from Kirk Herbstreit,” a third remarked.
“Kirk Herbstreit digging up that dog rn.”
The message is abundantly clear: Fans don’t like Herbstreit’s dogs.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – DECEMBER 07: ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit poses with his dog Peter prior to the 2024 SEC Championship between the Texas Longhorns and the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 07, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
The subject of cloning has been a contentious one for decades but it hasn’t really come up in meaningful discourse for a long time. This is one of the first instances where we’ve seen it come up as it applies to athletes. The athlete being Tom Brady is probably what’s going to catapult the discussion to top of the hour news in some places.
Time will tell if the technology reaches a point where it becomes available to more than just people as wealthy as Brady.
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Nov 4, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.