Edelman Inducted into Patriots Hall of Fame

For the first time this century — and only second time ever — Robert Kraft, the devoutly Jewish principal owner of the six-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, welcomed a fellow Jewish member of his organization into the Patriots Hall of Fame.

On the afternoon of Saturday Sept. 20, in front of thousands of fans and dozens of former players in attendance outside of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Julian Edelman (along with former Patriots head coach Bill Parcells) was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame. A candidate for enshrinement must be four years removed from their playing/coaching career to be eligible; Edelman, who last played in 2020, was selected on his first go-round.

While global celebrity quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski were the two most recognizable stars for the Patriots 2010s dynasty, the offense was so often sparkplugged by the undersized wide receiver Edelman, whose never-say-die attitude, sheer ruggedness, and clutch postseason performances — often on rainy afternoons and bitterly cold evenings — endeared himself to legions of football fans across not just New England, but the entire country.

There were certainly faster and stronger players with more talent, but few, if any, got more out of their talent than Edelman, who was drafted out of Kent State — not as a receiver, but as a quarterback — in the seventh and final round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Indeed, Edelman over the ensuing decade contributed to the Patriots’ dynastic run (five Super Bowl appearances, including three wins) by developing into a shifty slot receiver and solid punt returner while even moonlighting for a bit as a defensive back.

During the 32-minute induction speech that was packed with the requisite shout-outs to relatives, friends, coaches, and teammates — as well as some very thoughtful remarks for the team’s equipment staff, security guards, and cafeteria workers — and infused with the career-defining underdog theme, Edelman, currently an NFL analyst for FOX Sports, weaved in the narrative of his Judaic background. His early remarks included the following reference to the Jewish connection he still has to this day with the Patriots owner: “Thank you, Mr. Kraft, for all the wisdom that you gave me in the building, outside the building. I love going over our faith of Judaism together. And thank you for believing in me, for creating a culture where someone like me could find a role and thrive.”

Edelman, who grew up celebrating Chanukah, first publicly identified as being Jewish during an NFL Network interview in December 2013. Since then, he has visited Israel on multiple occasions, the first time being in 2015 with Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP). His Jewish ancestry stems from his father, Frank Edelman, a longtime mechanic and the owner of A-1 Auto Tech in Mountain View, Calif. And it was, in fact, Frank who received the longest tribute during his son’s big day earlier this month.

I love going over our faith of Judaism together. And thank you for believing in me, for creating a culture where someone like me could find a role and thrive.

“And to my father, my first coach, you instilled so much in me growing up,” began Edelman while fighting back tears. “But most importantly, you instilled work ethic, the idea that nothing in life is given to you or fair. And all you can worry about is what’s on your plate that day. You preach do the little things and focus on what you can control. And that’s something I lived by.

“You taught me the importance of a routine. See, my dad, he would get up at 5 a.m. — he was a mechanic. He’d go open up his shop at 6 a.m., work a 12-hour day. Then I’d see him before practice, so we could practice before practice or before a game. We did that every day. And I needed that. All those years of school, homework, school, homework, repeat, that prepared me for the NFL grind. He was tough. And these days he might be thrown in jail for how he did things, but I wouldn’t be here without him. He would always say, ‘keep your head down, no sniveling, and get to work.’

“For me, when things would start to seem impossible, memorizing a playbook, rehabbing from an injury, trying to get a call back from Tom Brady, I would remember what my dad used to tell me as a little boy. He would say, ‘Son, life is simple but hard.’ Meaning it’s simple knowing what you have to do. We all know what we have to do to be a better teacher, to be a better parent, to be a better person, to be a better worker, be a better student. But actually doing it is the hard part. I’ll always be proud to say I’m a New England Patriot and this place made me who I am today.”

He’d go open up his shop at 6 a.m., work a 12-hour day. Then I’d see him before practice, so we could practice before practice or before a game. We did that every day.

Edelman’s marvelous career could very well culminate in a speech at the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day, but it was not always a pleasure cruise. There were some off-field incidents that precluded him from having a squeaky-clean reputation (the most notable occurred in 2011 when he was arrested and charged for allegedly groping a woman at a Halloween party, though the sex assault charges were ultimately dropped) while he suffered a season-ending right knee injury in the 2017 preseason, which preceded a four-game suspension at the beginning of the 2018 regular season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. But just like he did after so many bone-rattling hits, Edelman bounced back from one of the most trying years of his life to ultimately be named MVP of Super Bowl LIII in February 2019.

He said, “2017, that was a hard year. Started out — injury, suspension — to go out and end it the way it did, like I said in my speech, I had an ultimate support system that was there through the rough times, that was there during the great times. I had some unbelievable teammates — we pushed each other. That was a great year for me. Would I want to go through it again? No, but it made me such a stronger person, when you’re at the bottom and you can work your way back to the top,”

As for his Jewish background, Edelman may have waited until he was an established veteran before opening up about it, but judging by his closing remarks, it was quite evident that Judaism remains an integral part of his identity:

“And I want to wish everyone a happy New Year coming up. Shanah Tovah and Foxborough forever. Thank you.”