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Eli Griffith sat in a green room at the Javits Center in Manhattan on the first day of Fanatics Fest, anxiously waiting with his family.
The Griffiths — father Joe, mother Jamie and sister Ava — had been waiting all day for Eli to meet his favorite athlete, the one whose name rested on their Michigan Wolverines and New England Patriots jerseys.
Tom Brady.
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Eli Griffith met his idol, legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady, at Fanatics Fest as part of the Fanatics and Make-A-Wish partnership. (Fanatics/Make-A-Wish)
Pakinomist Digital was able to speak with Eli and his family before they met Brady as part of Fanatics and Make-A-Wish’s partnership, which continues to deliver one-of-a-kind moments. Eli was “totally” nervous about being asked to meet his idol, but he also felt there was a “mutual connection” due to their roots in Ann Arbor, Michigan — where Brady’s stardom rose with the Wolverines before reaching the “GOAT” status Eli pointed out in the NFL.
“As the day goes on, it’s just more and more surreal. It’s like that’s the moment it’s happening and I’m just imagining him walking in the door,” Eli said.
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The moment finally arrived when Brady opened the door and the family shared the quality time together they had been looking forward to all day.
Brady caught up with Pakinomist Digital after the meeting where Eli, already showing off his high school journalism chops, had some questions to ask the legendary quarterback.
“He didn’t want to be a journalist. He said, ‘I’m a journalist!’ I said, ‘Absolutely, you’re staying,'” Brady said, smiling. “He had seven questions for me, and many funny ones. He definitely put a lot of time and thought into it and he asked a lot of good questions. A few of them I’ve never been asked before.”
Tom Brady attends Fanatics Fest NYC 2026 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City on July 16, 2026. (John Nacion/Getty Images for Fanatics)
A candid interview, some autographs and having a catch with the whole family, Brady made Eli’s wish come true in the best possible way. But the Griffiths should know that Eli’s story also serves as inspiration for Brady.
“When I was a player, we did a lot of it around football training camp and we had a lot of well wishes over the years,” Brady explained. “Just love being able to impact people’s lives in a positive way. A lot of these people are dealing with challenging situations – families and children. But they have the brightest spirits and the biggest hearts, and it’s just amazing to meet them, get inspiration. They think they get inspiration from us – I actually think it goes the other way.”
At the age of 14, Eli was diagnosed with an unusual heart condition. He had dilated cardiomyopathy on one side of his heart and ventricular non-compression on the other side. It was a rare genetic mutation that wasn’t discovered until he was a teenager.
As a result, Eli needed a heart transplant at CS Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor.
Eli Griffith received a heart transplant after a genetic mutation was found at age 14. Eli, in good spirits at the hospital, shows off his Tom Brady Michigan cards. (Joe Griffith)
During his time at the hospital, Brady was shown a photo of Eli with a bunch of trading cards from his Michigan days spread across his chest, which Brady called “pretty awesome.”
And while Brady was an inspiration, so was the entire Wolverines football team as Eli and his family struggled through their situation.
“Michigan’s football team actually stepped up a lot when he was in the hospital. Players came to visit him,” Joe Griffith said. “Charles Woodson gave a shout. We had a connection somehow through Jim Harbaugh and we got a phone message from Harbaugh as well as the player from the Chargers [JK Scott]. In it [Michigan] dressing room, the players sent a small voice message to Eli. All this kept spirits high. Kept us excited about things like after he had surgery, these three rookies were going to come from the team and visit him afterward. It all had a lot of ups and downs, but compared to experiences that a lot of people have, our lows weren’t as low as they could have been.”
It was the ultimate highlight for the Griffith family as they spent time with Brady, but it didn’t continue until the Fanatics Fest floor after their introduction. Eli was right next to Brady throwing trading card packs into the CardVault of Tom Brady while they all had a front row seat to Brady dunking one of his favorite teammates of all time, Rob Gronkowski, in a dunk tank full of Raising Canes sauce.
Todd Graves, Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady attend Fanatics Fest NYC 2026 at Jacob Javits Center on July 16, 2026 in New York City. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Fanatics)
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An experience of a lifetime for a family that has been through struggle but never wavered in spirit and hope.
“There are a lot of people who dig deep in life and we all face our own unique challenges and he’s a great kid. What a great spirit,” Brady said.
