Brady on concussions: ‘I really don’t think that’s anybody’s business’

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady did not deny that he suffered a concussion last season in response to comments his wife, Giselle Bundchen, made during an offseason interview.

Brady, instead, cited that information as private.

“You know, I don’t want to get into things have happened in the past, certainly medical history and so forth,” Brady told reporters Friday after practice. “I really don’t think that’s anyone’s business. What happened last year. I’m focused on this year, and improvement, and working on things I need to get better at. That’s how I approach everything. I mean, I’m not sitting here worried about last year, or five years ago.

“There’s other people that do worry about that, my wife, or my parents, or my sisters, or people that love me and care about me. I do the best I can do to prepare and play, mentally and physically, and I give the game everything I can.”

The Patriots never listed Brady on an injury report at any time last season with any type of head injury. Bundchen made the comments during an interview in May on “CBS This Morning.”

In response to the media attention that Bundchen’s comments generated, Brady’s agent, Don Yee, released a statement in May that stated “Tom was not diagnosed with a concussion last year.”

Although Friday marked his first press conference since the Super Bowl, Brady made his first public comments about Bundchen’s comments in an ESPN interview that aired in early July.

“She’s there every day,” Brady told ESPN in July. “I mean, we go to bed in the same bed every night, so I think she knows when I’m sore, she knows when I’m tired, she knows when I get hit. We drive home together (from games). But, she also knows how well I take care of myself. She’s a very concerned wife and very loving.”

On Friday, Brady was also asked about a recent study that found 110 of 111 brains of deceased NFL players who donated their brains to research had some form of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease.

Brady said “I think you’re not blind to it as a player” but added that he is confident in his health regimen and that “you learn from” the struggles of retired players who are dealing with health issues.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft said during the NFL annual meetings in March that Brady told him “he’d be willing to play six to seven more years.” Brady turned 40 years old Thursday, prompting constant speculation about when he might choose to retire.

“I just love doing this,” Brady said. “I’ve never thought about not playing. At least till my mid-40s, I’ve said, so that’s a pretty good goal in it of itself. And then we’ll see when I get there. But it has been so fun. Football has been such a rewarding part of my life. I fell in love with the game when I was young and I’m still in love with it today.

“Outside of my family, it’s my first love. To get here and come out and play with the teammates that I get to and my coaches for this team and organization has been a dream come true. I’m a long ways from California, but I made this my home and I love coming out here and practicing and playing.”