Tom Brady Says New NFL Season Would Be 'Challenging' After Admitting He Contracted COVID-19

Tom Brady spoke about his prediction about the upcoming football season.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback recently spoke with the Tampa Bay Times. During the interview, he was asked if he has already contracted COVID-19 and Brady admitted that he did test positive in February shortly after they won the Super Bowl 55 championship.

Brady and his team celebrated their victory with a boat parade at the time. With the new season coming up, Brady shared his thoughts on how the pandemic could potentially affect the tournaments.

"I think it's going to be challenging this year," he said. "I actually think it's going to play more of a factor this year than last year, just because of the way what we're doing now and what the stadium is going to look like and what the travel is going to look like and the people in the building and the fans."

He continued, "It's not like last year, although we're getting tested like last year. It's going to be, I definitely think guys are going to be out at different points and we've just got to deal with it."

Brady has not publicly disclosed his vaccination status. However, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians announced that "100 percent" of the team's players, coaches and staff have been vaccinated prior to the new season.

Brady and his team made headlines after they celebrated the Super Bowl LV victory with a boat parade on the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa. Brady was seen throwing the Lombardi Trophy over the water and many felt that the gesture was an act of total disrespect to the coveted award.

"IMO total disrespect!!! Can [you] imagine if it had fallen into the water!!!!" one commented.

"He should get fined for throwing the trophy. Disrespectful," @Katieshelby2 opined.

In an interview on "The Late Late Show With James Corden," the host asked Brady what he was thinking when he tossed the trophy during the waterway parade.

"First of all, I was not thinking at that moment," Brady said after Corden played a clip of the risky toss. "There was not a thought. It was just, 'This seems like really fun to do!'"

Brady's teammate Cameron Brate was able to catch the trophy and Brady said he was "so happy" with Brate's trophy-handling skills.

"I found out later that, had that been an incomplete pass, that would have went down like 80 feet," he added with a laugh.

The Buccaneers will kick off their season against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 9.