Tom Brady Lost Nearly 20 Lbs. as Gisele Bündchen Marriage Unraveled, New Book Claims: ‘Looked Like a Cancer Patient’

Tom Brady lost nearly 20 pounds, leading to concern from his teammates and coaches, as his marriage to Gisele Bündchen was ending in 2022

Bruce Arians said Brady "looked like a cancer patient with really good hair" in a new book about the quarterback

Brady "just seemed miserable" and was "so stressed," former coaches recalled

Tom Brady was "so stressed" from marital challenges with Gisele Bündchen that he lost nearly 20 pounds before his final NFL season in 2022, according to a new book about the former quarterback.

In an excerpt from Lars Anderson's book, Brady: An American Story and the Price of Greatness, obtained by PEOPLE, the author said Brady's former Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates "worried that he was ill" when he reported to training camp for his final season because he had lost so much weight.

Anderson spoke to former Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians, who said, "It was very clear that the reason for the weight loss was the stress from the personal issues he was dealing with," and said the quarterback "looked like a cancer patient with really good hair."

"But his problems were clearly impacting his physical well-being," Arians said in the book, describing Brady as someone who "prides himself on his physical condition," which made the NFL star's weight loss "jarring" for those who knew him. "And he just seemed miserable, not even close to the Tom we all loved. He was so stressed."

Arians said the Buccaneers locker room "knew about his marital problems, and it wasn't difficult to put the two together," in Anderson's book.

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Another former Buccaneers coach told Anderson, "His cheekbones had freaking cheekbones."

A third member of the organization recalled that Brady "never smiled" and "wasn't himself from the moment he showed up for training camp."

Reps for Brady and Bündchen did not immediately return PEOPLE's request for comment on Monday, Sept. 28.

Anderson's book also detailed Brady's alleged last-ditch effort to save his marriage to Bündchen, with whom he shares Benjamin Rein and Vivian Lake . Brady shares son John "Jack" Edward Thomas with his ex-girlfriend, actress Bridget Moynahan .

Bündchen and her now-husband, Joaquim Valente, welcomed their first baby together, a boy , in February 2025.

Bündchen, 46, and Brady announced they were separating shortly before their divorce was finalized in October 2022.

On an episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd earlier this year, Brady, now 49, opened up about how his divorce affected his final NFL season.

"My last season was tough," he confessed. "I was going through, I had a lot of, you know, a personal family issue," he continued, seemingly in reference to his and Bündchen's divorce. "And it was a challenge, and it was very … it just took a lot out of me in terms of, you know, my ability to play."

Brady retired from the NFL in 2023 and has since shifted into broadcasting. He is in his third season working the top NFL booth at Fox.