WWE’s WrestleMania 42 is now less than a month away. But the chatter around Tom Brady possibly showing up has been building for well over a month. And now, there’s a fresh layer to it. Veteran wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, revealed that talks are actually happening, even if nothing is locked in yet.

“From what I have been told, they are in negotiations for Tom Brady but there’s absolutely not a deal at this point for Tom Brady,” Meltzer wrote. “So it could happen, obviously Logan Paul and Tom Brady are working, everyone knows they’re working the angle I think people have seen that coming in, but there could be something in some form at WrestleMania.

“It would not be a surprise and what they did in the (flag) football game was clearly to build it, all the talk of Tom Brady cutting down pro wrestlers and all the wrestlers responding, that is all storyline. That is not Tom Brady’s a d–k and he doesn’t respect pro wrestling.”

Now, while the current speculation has picked up recently, this idea has been floating around for much longer. WWE hosted last year’s WrestleMania in Las Vegas. This year, it’s heading back to the same city again.

That matters because Brady already has ties there as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. He’s also connected through Fanatics, which handles WWE merchandise.

Nothing came of it last year. And even now, there’s still no deal. But things really started to shift after Brady’s appearance on Impaulsive, hosted by Logan Paul, back in February. That’s where the tone changed. What started as a casual exchange quickly turned into something more layered. Take a look at their conversation:

• Paul: “I’m told that I’m being flown out to Saudi Arabia to compete in a Fanatics flag football game with you.”
• Brady: “You know what, I’m actually a little worried for you because you’re a good athlete, but these guys are on another level.”
• Paul: “I’m the highest level. I’m the level.”
• Brady: “No, you’re not the level. You’re a good athlete, but when I’m thinking of Saquon Barkley, Odell Beckham, Justin Jefferson… it’s cute. I love WWE, it’s very cute, but honestly this is like real football, this is real competition.”

From there, things didn’t cool off. They escalated. The back and forth spilled onto social media, with Paul even throwing out a $1 million challenge to any football player willing to box him.

At that point, the conversation split into two tracks. On the surface, it looked like typical banter between a current WWE star and a retired NFL legend/FOX broadcaster. But underneath, many started reading it differently. The timing, the platform, and the consistency of the exchanges made it feel less random and more like a setup for Brady’s appearance at WrestleMania 42.

Now, with reports of actual negotiations in play, that interpretation is starting to hold more weight. Nothing is official yet. But considering how this has been building, and how neatly everything ties together, Brady showing up at WrestleMania 42 no longer feels far-fetched. It just feels like the natural next step.

WWE is already working on Tom Brady’s reported appearance

“You know, all their stuff is so cute and scripted, and they know what’s going on. In a football game, you don’t know, so they wouldn’t get near me. Plus, if I had a good offensive line, they’ll punch those guys right in the throat and they’d be probably crying. There’s no fake BS we do in American football. For those guys, it would be a whole different story for them,” Tom Brady said last week during an interview with Sports Illustrated on March 18.

That comment didn’t land in isolation. It immediately added fuel to what’s already been building for weeks. Several WWE stars responded, but the bigger takeaway was the reaction behind the scenes. Around both WWE and the NFL, there’s a growing sense that this isn’t random. It’s being set up.

The timing lines up as well. WrestleMania 42 is scheduled for April 18 and April 19 at Allegiant Stadium, with the event airing live on ESPN Unlimited and internationally on Netflix. So naturally, every public jab or response right now carries more weight than usual.

At the same time, the speculation is no longer just based on interviews and social media. There are early signs on the business side, too. Wrestlevotes Radio on Fightful Select reported that WWE has already prepared logos, specialty merchandise, and branding tied to Brady. It reportedly includes nicknames like “T-Bone” and “The Untouchable Tom Brady.”

So while there’s still no official confirmation from WWE or Brady, the overall direction is getting harder to ignore. The buildup, the responses, and now the reported branding all point the same way. And at this stage, it’s starting to feel less like speculation and more like something that’s just waiting to be made official.