Julian Francis Edelman^[1] (born May 22, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 12 seasons with the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He started playing college football at College of San Mateo and later transferred to play college football for the Kent State Golden Flashes as a quarterback and was selected in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL draft by the Patriots, where he transitioned to a return specialist and wide receiver. Edelman became a primary offensive starter in 2013 and was a staple of the Patriots' receiving corps until his retirement after the 2020 season.

Although never selected to a Pro Bowl, Edelman was one of the NFL's most productive postseason receivers. He ranks third in postseason receiving yards and receptions and holds the Super Bowl records for punt returns and first-half receptions in a single game. A three-time Super Bowl winner, Edelman was the receiving yards leader during his victories in Super Bowl XLIX and Super Bowl LIII. He was named MVP of the latter, accounting for more than half his team's receiving yards.

Personal Life

Edelman dated Brazilian model Adriana Lima on and off in 2016 and 2017.[167][168] He has a daughter Lily, born with Swedish model Ella Rose. In an interview with the magazine Haute Living in 2019, Edelman detailed how challenging and rewarding he found being a father. He explained that fatherhood had changed his view of life.[169]

Edelman's paternal great-grandfather, Harry Edelman, was Jewish; after emigrating from Poland to England, he married Mabel Hennessey, a woman of Irish Catholic background, Julian's great-grandmother.[170][171][172] As an adult, Edelman has experienced what he described as a "Jewish awakening."[173] During an NFL Network interview in December 2013, Edelman stated that he identifies as Jewish and celebrates Hanukkah; he has become "more attuned to the religion and history." In 2014 he wore an Israeli-American flag pin on his hat during a game against the Denver Broncos at Gillette Stadium.[174][175] He also voiced support for the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting: he wore an Israeli flag hat following the Patriots' win against the Green Bay Packers on November 4, 2018,[176] and wore a pair of customized cleats bearing the hashtag #strongerthanhate in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 16, 2018.[177] Edelman shared a photo of the cleats on Instagram and listed the names of all the victims in the photo's caption.[178]

In response to Meyers Leonard's use of an antisemitic slur during a Twitch stream,[179] Edelman posted an open letter inviting Leonard to a Shabbat dinner with him in Miami.[180]

Edelman was arrested at a Halloween party in 2011 and charged with indecent assault and battery for allegedly groping a woman.[181] On December 15, 2011, prosecutors dropped all charges against Edelman. According to a statement by the Suffolk County district attorney's office, "The evidence suggests that he approached a woman on the dance floor and took her hand briefly. Review of the videotape indicates that the physical contact between the two was fleeting, prosecutors say, and did not meet the elements of any crime."[182]

In July 2016, Edelman was named in a paternity suit filed by Swedish model Ella Rose, with whom he had a casual relationship, naming him as the father of her unborn daughter.[183] After first contesting paternity, Edelman acknowledged it; his daughter was born in November,[184] and he was not named on her birth certificate.[185]

About 9:00 p.m on January 11, 2020, Edelman was cited for misdemeanor vandalism by the Beverly Hills Police Department after he allegedly jumped on the hood of a car in Beverly Hills, California, causing damage. In April 2020, the charge was dropped by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office because Edelman had paid the car owner for the repair and had no criminal record.[186]