Tom Brady's Parents Were 'Sick as a Dog' Last Fall Due to COVID-19

Tom Brady Sr., the father of Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, told ESPN's Mike Greenberg on Monday that he and his wife suffered from COVID-19 last September as the Bucs quarterback was beginning his first season with the team.

“When the season started this year, I was in the hospital with COVID, for almost three weeks,” Brady Sr. said. “And my wife was sick with COVID at the same time.”

“I was sick as a dog, and my wife was sick as a dog. For the first two games when I was in the hospital, I didn’t even care if they were playing, much less missing the game. It was a matter of life and death—just like anybody who goes into the hospital. It’s serious stuff.”

Brady Sr. said that his son would "FaceTime me every day on his way to and from practice" and was "stressed out" worrying about them.

"Tommy fought through it, and so now it's in the rearview mirror," Brady Sr. said. "We're healthy, we're happy and everything is good."

More than 25 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus have been reported in the United States. There have been nearly 420,000 reported deaths.

“We’re just representative of 25 million Americans who have had this stuff so far,” Brady Sr. said of his family's bout with the virus.

Brady's mother, Galynn, was diagnosed with breast cancer during the 2016 season and completed her chemo treatment. She also battled pneumonia and shingles before attending New England's Super Bowl victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

Brady's family plans on being in attendance at the Tampa Bay quarterback's 10th career Super Bowl appearance and will be among the 22,000 spectators at the game.

“Getting to a 10th Super Bowl in 19 years of playing is pretty, it’s incomprehensible, actually," Brady Sr. said. "It’s beyond anything we could ever imagine.”

Super Bowl LV between the Buccaneers and Chiefs is set for Feb. 7 with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. ET.