Tom Brady has pushed back on concerns about CTE in a new interview, arguing the NFL may be making the game safer at the cost of its intensity. The comments come as a separate, long-running controversy around Brady’s own concussion history was recently revived
Tom Brady picked a fight with the NFL’s rule makers—and he did it on the one issue that has sat at the center of American football’s modern debate: head injuries.
In a new interview appearance on The Overlap. sponsored by Sky Bet. the seven-time Super Bowl winner dismissed fears about CTE and criticized the sport’s efforts to reduce brutal contact. Brady. now retired after calling time on his career in February 2023. said it is “not my favorite thing to talk about” head injuries. adding that when you sign up as an athlete. you accept a different level of risk than most people are willing to take.
“People are being really conscious about head injuries,” Brady said. He stressed that no one wants players hurt, but argued the conversation is drifting in the wrong direction. “Nobody wants to see people get injured but I think we should actually get better at taking care of people.”
Then he went after the trade-off he believes is being made. Brady questioned why the league has been “archaic” about recovery while changing rules to reduce contact. In his view, contact is still central to the game even after the NFL’s attempts to limit head impacts. “Contact is a big part of the game. and there is still a lot of contact in the sport. but we’ve lessened it by about 25/30 per cent.”.
The league has, in recent years, tried to address growing awareness around concussions and CTE. It has implemented position-specific helmets, introduced guardian caps, and increased scrutiny around targeting and unnecessary roughness calls. There has also been a change to the kickoff rule designed to eliminate the danger of full-speed collisions between players.
Yet Brady’s stance lands in stark contrast to what his family revealed earlier in the public conversation about his own brain health. In May 2017, his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen said he suffered a number of concussions during his career, including in the Super Bowl he played in just months before.
On CBS’s This Morning, Bündchen said: “He had a concussion last year. He has concussions pretty much every… I mean, we don’t talk about it. He does have concussions.” She added: “I don’t really think it’s a healthy thing for a body to go through that kind of aggression all the time. That could not be healthy for you.”.
Brady, who ultimately retired in February 2023, admitted at the time that Bündchen wanted him to walk away earlier than he did. He said: “If it was up to my wife, she would have me retire today. She told me that last night three times.” They later divorced in October 2022.
Bündchen also said in the CBS interview that she was planning for a different future—one built around recovery and normal life. “I’m planning on having him be healthy and do a lot of fun things when we’re like 100, I hope.”
Brady’s recent remarks about taking risks as part of being an athlete come as he has kept moving through the wider sporting world. not just football. He was spotted greeting Neymar Jr during Brazil’s World Cup opener against Morocco last week. and he also appeared on the MetLife sidelines—joined by rapper Travis Scott ahead of a game at the stadium.
Brady and his daughter Vivian, 15, were captured in the stands wearing matching blue Brazil jerseys. They were seen sharing a warm father-daughter handshake, with Brady standing alongside the group as he watched from among the fans.
At 48. Brady also remains known for treating his body like a project. with a strict diet and gruelling workout regime keeping him in peak physical condition. The new comments were delivered on a podcast sponsored by Sky Bet alongside soccer legends Gary Neville. Roy Keane and Ian Wright in New York City.
Before the conversation on contact and safety. Brady had been mixing with global football figures in Brazil’s World Cup week. He was at MetLife Stadium. where the final will be played. and he received VIP access as he walked the sidelines before kickoff. While there. he greeted Neymar during Brazil’s warmups. and later met up with Travis Scott. who wore a vintage Brazil jersey.
Brady’s relationship with soccer runs deeper than a spectator’s visit. He owned a stake in English Championship side Birmingham City since August 2023, and he has been seen at St. Andrews supporting the club. His ownership has also been featured in an Amazon Prime documentary released last year. He has been closely linked to the World Cup as well, participating in the draw for the tournament last December.
For Brady, the message is clear: recovery matters, and contact is part of what makes football football. But for anyone still weighing the NFL’s changing rules against his own concussion history—publicly disclosed by Bündchen—his dismissal of CTE fears doesn’t read like a simple disagreement.
It reads like a clash over what safety should cost, and who gets to decide.
Tom Brady CTE fears NFL safety changes concussions chronic traumatic encephalopathy The Overlap Sky Bet Gisele Bündchen New England Patriots Super Bowl guardian caps position-specific helmets