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Rob Gronkowski may have retired from playing football, but that doesn't mean he lost his connection to the sport.
He currently has a studio analyst gig with Fox; but aside from that, he remains close to his former teammates from the New England Patriots. This includes wide receiver Julian Edelman, who hosted two "Games with Names" live shows at Boston's historic Wilbur Theater on Friday.
Gronkowski, his girlfriend Camille Kostek and fellow ex-Patriot Danny Amendola were among those present.
How Rob Gronkowski-Julian Edelman friendship began
Everyone knows Gronkowski and Edelman were Tom Brady's favorite passing targets during the second half of the Foxboro dynasty. Both were especially important contributors in the playoffs, with the latter devloping a reputation for making clutch plays when the stakes were high.
Together, they won three Super Bowls amid five appearances (XLIX, LI, and LIII). They also became close friends during this period — a friendship that Gronkowski discussed in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE in January.
“We actually met each other off the field at an autograph signing. From there, that night we went out together and that's when we officially really became wingmen for life. We went to a club called Splash. I was dancing all over the place. Julian was being Julian, and that's when our friendship and our wingman-type of style hit it off together,” Gronkowski said.
Edelman, for his part, called bonding with the tight end "fun."
“The one thing (the coaching staff) said about Gronk is, ‘You're going to love this guy.’ And it was exactly true. He came in and was like a big teddy bear that scored a bunch of touchdowns... He was a rock star,” Edelman shared.
Since their retirement, they became sportscasters who occasionally crossed paths in this new endeavor.
“We see each other at work in the green rooms and we watch the games. We'll cross over when he does his show, and he'll sometimes have segments on our show,” Edelman added.
Aside from his Games with Names podcast, Edelman also has his own production company called Coast Productions.
