“You won Covid last year. It’s still there. Did you have it?” asked journalist Rick Stroud.
“Yes,” Brady said, according to the Times.
“And I think it’s going to be a challenge this year,” he continued. “In fact, I think he’s going to play one more factor this year than last year, just because of the way we’re doing now and what the stadium will be like and what the trip and people in the building and the fans will be like.”
“It’s not like last year, even though we put ourselves to the test like last year. It will be, I definitely think the guys will be out at different points and we just have to deal with it.”
Brady’s comments come a week before the start of the regular season of the National Football League. The NFL was held last season under strict Covid-19 safety protocols, including constant testing, mandatory use of masks, and limited contact with the outside public.
This season, some of those rules have been cut for vaccinated players as part of the NFL’s plan to encourage vaccination and make sure every game is played.
Brady appears to be vaccinated, as Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said Thursday the team was “100% vaccinated,” including all coaches and players.
The 44-year-old star quarterback won his seventh Super Bowl championship in February with a 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bucs celebrated with a boat parade on Feb. 10, during which Brady threw the championship trophy from one boat to another.
It is unclear when Brady was vaccinated. At the time of the boat parade, at the beginning of the vaccine launch in the United States, the vaccine was generally only available to people over 65 and young people with pre-existing conditions.
A Brady representative did not respond to any requests for comment.