Five years after retiring from football, Julian Edelman is finally seeing his efforts with the New England Patriots rewarded. Thanks to the organization’s recent announcement, Edelman’s legendary role in the Patriots’ dynasty is set to be immortalized as he will be the 37th member to be inducted into the Patriots’ Hall of Fame.
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In noting that his teammate is currently the talk of the town on account of being a first-ballot Hall of Famer for the franchise, Rob Gronkowski took the time to give Edelman his followers during their most recent discussion on the Dudes on Dudes podcast. According to the former tight end, the honor is “well deserved.”
“There was no doubt in my mind that you weren’t going to be first ballot either. I mean, what you have done for the New England Patriots’ organization, how many times you came through in the clutch situations, not just for Tom, not just for the offense, but for the whole entire organization. How many times you came in clutch for me out there on the field, because without your success I wouldn’t have success. So, I appreciate you, brother. Congratulations. You deserve it,” Rob explained.
Julian couldn’t help but to think that maybe the team was a bit generous in labeling him as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Nevertheless, he made sure to thank Gronk for what he jokingly reiterated as being “kind words.” Gronk reciprocated, noting that the decision to make Edelman a first-ballot selection was a “no brainer” before agreeing that yes, they were in fact some “super nice words.”
Edelman will now join the likes of Tom Brady, Rodney Harrison, Mike Vrabel, and several other members of the Patriots’ storied franchise history.
.@Edelman11 did it all.
Welcome to @TheHall JE11. pic.twitter.com/1gpX59QUGS
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) May 5, 2025
Seeing as the Patriots’ Hall of Fame requires players to be retired for a minimum of four years prior to being eligible for entry, Edelman’s former teammate and podcast co-host won’t have to wait much longer before joining him. Considering that both Brady and Edelman are already members, it’s safe to say that Gronk will be looking forward to finally joining them on one last roster.
Gronkowski will likely go down in history for not just being one of the best Patriots, but one of the best tight ends to ever play the game of football. One of only six players at the position to ever record more than 9,000 receiving yards, his career total of 92 receiving touchdowns is good for the third most by any tight end in NFL history.
While he does rank just outside of the top 10 in terms of total career receptions, his four Super Bowl rings and four All-Pro nominations will likely make up for that in the eyes of hall of fame voters. A crucial cog in the machine that was the New England Patriots’ dynasty, Gronkowski is all but certain to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer for both the NFL and the Patriots’ hall of fame.
