Julian Edelman has lived a life few NFL players can match. A late seventh-round selection out of Kent State by the New England Patriots, Edelman adapted to a major position change. Transitioning from a three-year starting quarterback with the Golden Flashes to a punt returner and wide receiver in New England. Three Super Bowl championships later, including a Super Bowl MVP award, the Patriots Hall of Famer just experienced another first in his career. His first music video.
“One day I’m walking to the [FOX Sports] set singing ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon. One of the FOX social media team members walked over and told me they needed to get me into the recording studio,” said Edelman. “But I haven’t sung since seventh grade, when I had a solo performance in ‘Bye Bye Birdie.'”
What started as a random moment sparked a creative collaboration between FOX Sports, Edelman and his podcast co-host, Rob Gronkowski. The result was a two-minute music video titled “Talkin’ Football,” featuring Edelman and Gronkowski performing a duet in a setting resembling Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood before making their way onto the field at Gillette Stadium.
“I always tell my daughter that you have to do things that make you uncomfortable. That’s when the best stuff happens, when you get out of your comfort zone,” Edelman said. “They asked me and Rob [Gronkowski] to do it, so we went with the idea. Rob’s typically more of a dancer, and I’ve always been a hummer with jingles and songs. But we’ve never done a duet together.”
The video was created in partnership with The San Clemente Experiment and directed by Clay Weiner. Edelman says he and Gronkowski had input into the planning and overall look they wanted the music video to deliver. His inspiration for the project stemmed from a moment when he visited Mark Wahlberg during a recent movie shoot.
Falling Into Sports Media
“Talkin’ Football” is the latest addition to FOX Sports’ promotional efforts for Edelman’s program with Gronkowski, THE GRONK & JULES SHOW. The twice-weekly program features the FOX Sports analysts discussing the latest NFL storylines with their own style and flair.
Following his retirement after the 2020 NFL season, Edelman wasted little time finding a path into his second act. However, a career in sports media was never something he envisioned as a post-playing goal.
“That wasn’t the goal. I had a production company I was trying to parlay into a first-look deal with Paramount. They asked me to do Inside the NFL. So, I used it as leverage to get the first-look deal and to fund the production company,” Edelman explained. “But once I started doing TV, there’s a lot of similarities between the day-to-day in sports television and being an athlete. I’ve grown to love it.”
After a 12-year career at the highest level, Edelman found comfort in the infrastructure of network television. Weekly meetings, brainstorming sessions with teams of people, text chains and the pressure to perform on any given Sunday all felt familiar. The difference was that he no longer had to endure the physical demands of competing on the gridiron or the preparation required during practice.
For years before his retirement, Edelman had been part of the content creation ecosystem. He posted reels on Instagram, produced YouTube videos and showcased the personality behind the facemask in ways that no press conference could. He understood that audiences wanted access to their favorite players and content that revealed more about the personalities behind the uniforms.
Inside The Gameplan
THE GRONK & JULES SHOW is the latest example of Edelman’s evolution into digital media. In 2024, he launched a podcast with Gronkowski through their entertainment studio, Nuthouse Sports, called Dudes on Dudes. Two years later, with Shadow Lion and FOX Sports, Edelman and Gronkowski have taken their original concept in a different direction to see where it leads.
“We wanted to go more current with the content and be more reactional,” Edelman said. “We did Dudes on Dudes to develop our chemistry. Now it’s a different format in terms of what to record and when to record. It’s more mind-consuming. But it’s been a slow progression to roll it over to THE GRONK & JULES SHOW with Shadow Lion and FOX.”
Edelman says the direction of the content was intentional. With Edelman working on FOX NFL Kickoff and Gronkowski appearing on FOX NFL Sunday, both have a front-row seat to the action around the NFL. With a team keeping an eye on every game, Edelman and Gronkowski identify the moments they want to feature in the show.
“We watch the games and go naturally with what we want to [take] from the games. It could be deep into schematics or just how a guy motioned a first-down signal,” Edelman noted. “We have a great team that helps us. They know our language and understand how we think. Then we sit in a room, hash it out and come up with the show right there after the second slate of games.”
THE GRONK & JULES SHOW is a taped program that debuts twice per week across FOX Sports’ digital platforms, FOX One, Tubi, the NFL on FOX YouTube channel, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Its debut following Week 1 of the NFL season marked the most-viewed debut month of any FOX Sports digital franchise.
Even more interesting was that the original pitch for the program included the possibility of creating a second-screen experience on game days.
“We had those ideas years ago [going live during games]. We were pitching that, but right now we’re still learning this routine,” Edelman said. “It’s a new routine. Plus, it’s getting kind of saturated with the second-screen experiences. Everyone has a stream, it seems. You don’t want to oversaturate. But once we refine this routine and get it to a point where we feel great about it, the more reps you get at something, the better it gets. We’re at that stage right now.”
The Patriot Way
Edelman credits his success in media to the traits instilled in him during his time with the New England Patriots. Mental and physical toughness, along with the ability to perform under pressure, remain central to his approach. To this day, he treats every week like a game week, preparing to perform when the audience tunes in.
That same drive keeps his creative curiosity alive. With experience playing multiple positions and a passion for football, Edelman says he’s interested in exploring even more opportunities. One possibility could eventually involve a role in the broadcast booth.
“I’m in media now. When I hear a color guy on the broadcast, sometimes I listen to how they explain a play and wonder how I would do the same,” Edelman explained. “I’ve never really thought about it, even though I kind of have thought about it. But I’ve never talked about it with people who do it, including Tom [Brady].”
What makes Julian Edelman’s second act in sports media interesting is that he hasn’t approached it with the mindset of someone trying to recreate his playing career.
Instead, he’s embraced the opportunity to explore new avenues, challenge himself creatively and discover what else he can bring to the table. Whether it’s building a digital franchise with Gronkowski, stepping into a recording studio for his first music video or eventually finding his way into a broadcast booth, Edelman continues to approach each opportunity the way he did during his playing days: with preparation, curiosity and a willingness to take on whatever challenge comes next.
After all, a career built on overcoming the odds doesn’t have to end when the final whistle blows. For Edelman, the next chapter is still being written, and he’s clearly having fun figuring out where it takes him.
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Pass on this D-level whatever. Wait ten years and see him at your local Boston bar for Wwhatever when Drake Maye is a Buccaneer.