As is the case with many recently retired pro athletes, former New England Patriots legends Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski started a podcast. On the show, called Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and Jules, the pair talk about everything from football to pop culture to their personal lives. They are clearly very close, and one of the most common topics is another close friend and former teammate: Tom Brady.
Advertisement
Both played their entire NFL careers with Brady (save Edelman’s final year in New England in 2020), with Gronkowski even following him to Tampa Bay in 2020. Gronkowski caught 90 TD passes from Brady in his career, more than any other player. Edelman caught 36, which is good for third on that list behind Randy Moss (39).
However, with all three now retired and living their own lives, Edelman and Gronkowski have been free to find other QB buddies. And this week, they found the most hilarious one yet: Hall of Famer and Brady’s longtime rival, Peyton Manning.
Edelman recently shared a couple of pictures of himself, Gronk, and Manning at Tiffany’s. His caption showed that even when he’s with another quarterback, he’s still thinking about Tommy.
“Playing the field, sorry @TomBrady,” Edelman playfully tweeted.
Playing the field, sorry @TomBrady pic.twitter.com/Q0INzdwW41
— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) May 19, 2025
The trio was at Tiffany’s to take a look at how the iconic luxury jewelry company creates the Lombardi Trophy — the trophy awarded to the Super Bowl champions.
Tiffany’s has been the maker of the Lombardi since it was first presented to Vince Lombardi himself after winning Super Bowl I in 1967. The company also builds and designs championship trophies for the NBA, MLB, and tennis’ US Open.
Edelman, Gronk, and Manning may not have known much about building a Lombardi Trophy before arriving for their visit, but they certainly knew how to win ’em. Manning won two Lombardis in his time, Edelman won three, and Gronk won four. That’s 11 Lombardi Trophies in one picture. Not even Tom Brady can match that with his NFL-record seven titles.
Julian Edelman’s post was clearly made in a joking and fun tone. While Manning and Brady were rivals for much of their careers, especially early on, they were not what you would call bitter rivals. They had a lot of love, respect, and admiration for each other.
They made that clear while they were still in the league. And despite some hilarious shots at one another at Brady’s Netflix Roast last year, they continue to sing one another’s praises in retirement. The rivalry was also relatively even, which probably made it easier for the two to be amicable.
Brady dominated the regular season matchups 9-3. Manning, meanwhile, won the playoff battle 3-2, including wins in the last three straight postseason meetings between the two.
