Tom Brady says he tested positive for the coronavirus after the Bucs' Super Bowl parade and predicts the virus will be an even bigger factor this season

• Tom Brady told the Tampa Bay Times that he tested positive for the coronavirus back in February.
• Brady's case came soon after the Buccaneers celebrated their Super Bowl win with a boat parade.
• All Bucs players are now said to be vaccinated, but Brady predicted a "challenging" NFL season.

In February, Tom Brady and the Buccaneers celebrated their win in Super Bowl LV with a boat parade through the waters of Tampa, Florida.

Soon after the revelry, however, Brady tested positive for the coronavirus, the Buccaneers quarterback told the Tampa Bay Times on Saturday.

Brady is now vaccinated against COVID-19, along with 100% of his Buccaneers teammates, head coach Bruce Arians told reporters last week. But even with his entire locker room vaccinated, Brady predicts that COVID-19 is set to be an even bigger factor this year than it was during the 2020 season.

"I think it's going to be challenging this year," Brady told the Tampa Bay Times. "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.

"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's statement may feel counterintuitive at first - with vaccines available to all players who want one.

But the protocols implemented by the NFL heading into 2021 leave plenty of room for COVID-19 to cause disaster for teams heading into a game week.

The protocols are vastly different for vaccinated and unvaccinated players: Vaccinated players do not have to isolate if they come into contact with somebody who tests positive for COVID-19, while anyone unvaccinated must quarantine for five days.

Even for vaccinated players, COVID-19 can cause disruption - a fact the Buccaneers already know well. Last Sunday, ESPN reported that four Bucs players had recently tested positive for the coronavirus - defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh, kicker Ryan Succop, and offensive linemen Nick Leverett and Earl Watford - and that sources said all four were fully vaccinated.