Julian Edelman is an American football wide receiver. He plays for the New England Patriots for the NFL.
Let’s find out some trivia and facts about his life and career thus far.
- His full name is Julian Francis Edelman
- He was born on May 22, 1986
- He is an American football wide receiver and punt returner
- He plays for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL)
- He played college football at Kent State and the College of San Mateo as a quarterback
- He was drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft
- Edelman primarily plays on offense and as a punt returner
- He has also been pressed into service as a cornerback at times when the Patriots have been shorthanded on defense
- Edelman is one of the most productive receivers in post-season history
- Ranking second overall (behind Jerry Rice) in both post-season receiving yards and post-season receptions
- He has played in four Super Bowls (XLVI, XLIX, LI and LIII)
- In each of the last three, he led all wide receivers in receiving yards
- He was named Super Bowl MVP for Super Bowl LIII
- In this Super Bowl he had 10 catches for 141 yards receiving
- That is more than half of his team’s total receiving yardage
- He holds the Super Bowl records for career punt returns (8) and first-half receptions in a single game (7)
- Edelman was born in Redwood City, California
- His parents are Angela and Frank Edelman
- His father is a mechanic who owns an A-1 Auto Tech
- He has two siblings
- They are Jason and Nicole
- He was originally raised as a Christian
- His ancestry includes Greek, English, Scottish, Irish, Ashkenazi Jewish, and German
- His mother was born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, to German parents who had lived in Belgium
- He was the quarterback for Woodside High School in Woodside, California
- As a senior, he led the Wildcats to a 13-0 record in 2004
- During his high school career, Edelman had 2,237 yards and 29 touchdowns passing
- In addition to 964 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing
- In 2016, Edelman became one of three Patriots to publish a children’s book
- The other two are Malcolm Mitchell and Martellus Bennett
- Edelman’s book, Flying High, is about a squirrel named Jules who learns to overcome his physical limitations through hard work and the assistance of a goat named Tom
- A sequel, Flying High 2, loosely based on Edelman’s “greatest Super Bowl catch” against the Atlanta Falcons, was released in December 2017
- On October 24, 2017, Hachette Book Group published Edelman’s memoir, Relentless, written with Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston
- Edelman also has his own clothing brand, JE11
- He has collaborated with Joe’s Jeans on a line of shirts and jeans
- And with Cutters Sports on a line of football gloves
- He has also made a number of cameo appearances on TV
- Including episodes of the HBO sports dramedy Ballers and the reality competition America’s Next Top Model
- He has also presented twice, with teammates, at the Grammy Awards
- In 2015 with Malcolm Butler and 2019 with Devin McCourty
- He also appeared in a Puma advertisement campaign in 2015
- Together with Danny Amendola, he was featured in a 30-minute NFL Network special, NFL Going Global: Edelman & Amendola
- Chronicling their promotional trip to Mexico City ahead of the Patriots’ 2017 game there
- In July 2016, Edelman was named in a paternity suit filed by Swedish model Ella Rose, whom he had a casual relationship with, naming him the father of her unborn daughter
- After initially contesting paternity, Edelman eventually acknowledged it and daughter was born November 30
- Though he was not named in the birth certificate
- On the night of January 11, 2020, Edelman was arrested after he allegedly jumped on the hood of a car in Beverly Hills, California, the Beverly Hills police department stated his actions lead to damage of said car
- Edelman was booked for misdemeanor vandalism, and was released the next day
- Edelman is scheduled to appear at the Airport Courthouse on April 13, 2020
- On the night of this event Edelman was with former Boston Celtic, ESPN NBA analyst, Paul Pierce and his former Patriots teammate, wide receiver Danny Amendola. Neither Pierce or Amendola are implicated in any wrongdoing
- Edelman dated Brazilian model Adriana Lima on-and-off from 2016 to 2017
- 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
- Over the last decade, Edelman has experienced what he described as a “Jewish awakening”
- 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
- 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
- And wore a pair of customized cleats bearing the hashtag #strongerthanhate in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 16, 2018
- Edelman shared a photo of the cleats on Instagram and listed the names of all the victims in the photo’s caption
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