Tom Brady’s agent on Friday denied the New England Patriots star had suffered an undisclosed concussion last season, contradicting a statement by the quarterback’s wife earlier this week.
“Tom was not diagnosed with a concussion last year,” agent Don Yee said in a statement to US media outlets. “Many of the protocols and safeguards still are evolving and it’s obviously a good thing the organization and everyone close to him is vigilant and always looking out for his health.”
Yee’s statement came just two days after Brady’s spouse, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen, told an interviewer that the quarterback had suffered multiple concussions in his career despite never having been listed with a head injury.
Bundchen said in an interview on “CBS This Morning” that Brady was concussed last year and had suffered other head traumas but did not say when they occurred.
“I just have to say, as a wife, as you know (the NFL) is not the most, let’s say, unaggressive sport. Football, he had a concussion last year,” she said.
“He has concussions pretty much every — I mean, we don’t talk about it.
“But he has concussions and I don’t really think it’s a healthy thing for your body to go through. You know, that kind of aggression all the time, that cannot be healthy for you. I’m planning on having him be healthy and do a lot of fun things when we’re like 100, I hope.”
Brady, who won a record fifth Super Bowl after guiding the Patriots to a comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons, has never been diagnosed with a concussion in his professional career.
The Patriots did not list Brady with a concussion at any stage in 2016, although he missed the first four games of the season due to his Deflategate suspension.
In a later statement on Wednesday, the NFL said the league had reviewed Brady’s file and found “no records that indicate that Mr. Brady suffered a head injury or concussion, or exhibited or complained of concussion symptoms.”
The league said it had contacted the NFL Players Association and would attempt to gather more information from the Patriots medical staff and Brady.
“The health and safety of our players is our foremost priority and we want to ensure that all our players have and continue to receive the best care possible,” the NFL statement said.
Brady, who turns 40 in August, told ESPN earlier this week he hoped to play until he was “around 45,” fitness permitting.
He added that Gisele would likely have a role in any decision to retire.
“She makes decisions for our family that I’ve got to deal with. Hopefully she never says, ‘Look, this has to be it,'” Brady said. “… My wife and my kids, it’s a big investment of their time and energy too.”
The NFL has faced growing scrutiny in recent years linked to the issue of concussions and head trauma, with the league in 2015 agreeing on a $1 billion settlement to resolve thousands of lawsuits by former players suffering from neurological problems.
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