FOX NFL Sunday star Terry Bradshaw has opened up on his battle with cancer and the lingering thought of whether he had earned his place in heaven
NFL legend Terry Bradshaw about confronting his mortality after battling two forms of cancer
NFL legend Terry Bradshaw about confronting his mortality after battling two forms of cancer(Image: Getty)
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NFL legend and FOX NFL Sunday star Terry Bradshaw has opened up on confronting his mortality after battling two forms of cancer, and it left him wondering, “Am I going to heaven?”
Bradshaw, 78, became a superstar TV personality following his glittering playing career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he became a four-time Super Bowl champion and a one-time NFL MVP. After retiring from the NFL, Bradshaw joined CBS Sports in 1984 before becoming a cornerstone of Fox NFL Sunday from its launch in 1994.
His humor, outspoken personality, and self-deprecating style are what made him one of American sports TV’s most beloved figures. Bradshaw previously said he hoped to retire after Fox's next Super Bowl broadcast in 2029, when he would turn 80, although he has since said he has no plans to retire.
Bradshaw has also battled cancer twice, undergoing treatment for bladder cancer in 2021 and Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare form of skin cancer, in 2022 - both of which he beat. However, the scary health ordeal left the devout Christian wondering whether he had earned his place in heaven.
"My thoughts were about dying. Am I going to heaven? Am I a good enough man? Have I been a good enough Christian? Have I been kind to people? Am I going to heaven?" Bradshaw said on William Shatner and Melanie Shatner Gretsch's "No Time But Now" podcast last week.
Bradshaw explained on the podcast that he chose to keep his initial diagnosis to himself, concentrating instead on the doctors' belief that the cancer was treatable rather than allowing himself to think about the possibility of death.
"I didn't feel panic. I didn't think death. I'm pretty sure I said, ‘Well, curable.’ Yeah. The doctor thinks in six weeks," Bradshaw said.
Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski, Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson and Michael Strahan attend the Super Bowl LIX Pregame at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski, Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson and Michael Strahan attend the Super Bowl LIX Pregame at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana.(Image: Getty)
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"And so I never once went, ‘Oh, I got to get my house in order. I got to do this.’ I just said, ‘OK, curable.’ That's what I needed to hear."
The cancer could return, but Bradshaw says death doesn’t frighten him. "No, death did not frighten me. It did not in any way frighten me. Now, that's easy to say because I haven't been told, 'You're dying. Well, you're going to die,'" Bradshaw said.
"I know I'm going to die. And when that time comes, how will I handle that with grace and strength and an understanding that God loves me?” he continued.
“I'm going to go to heaven. I'm going to see my family again with it. Yes, that's going to be my, that's going to be my strength.”
Terry Bradshaw reacts prior to Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Terry Bradshaw reacts prior to Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana.(Image: Getty)
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Cancer also changed how he approaches life with his wife, Tammy. He’s focused on living life to the fullest.
"I want her to have more happiness than she ever thought possible. To me, that just makes, that fills my spirit. That fills me with joy," Bradshaw said.
"To know that, you know, that I'm a good husband now. I'm a good husband now. And I've got a great wife and I want her to know what it's like to really feel loved."