Julian Edelman Says Tom Brady Roast Reminded Him of a ‘Locker Room’: ‘A Little Inappropriate’ (Exclusive)

The retired wide receiver exclusively tells PEOPLE his thoughts on the Netflix roast and how he stays on top of his health in retirement

By Julian Edelman says roasting his close friend and former teammate Tom Brady brought him back to their days in the Patriots locker room.Edelman, 38, tells PEOPLE that he “had fun” participating in Netflix’s live special, The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady, and that the evening reminded him of “being in a locker room” while he and stars like Kevin Hart and Kim Kardashian poked fun at the former quarterback.

“I thought it was a fun night. Everyone had super thick skin and we all knew what we were there for, and that was to make fun of each other,” says Edelman, who jokingly referred to Brady as “Leonardo DiCaprio’s ex-girlfriend’s ex-husband” during the roast.

Edelman continues, “I mean, it felt very similar to a locker room — we just did in front of people, which you would feel would be a little inappropriate, but it was fun. It felt like a big therapeutic session between everyone that was there, if you know what I mean,” the former New England Patriot adds.
Edelman retired from the NFL in 2021 and has turned his focus to broadcasting for Fox Sports and his podcast, Games with Names, among other endeavors.

Being in front of the camera seems to come easy for Edelman, who says he hopes to eventually try out a career in acting. “I haven’t got to explore acting the way I’ve really wanted to,” he says. “I’ve been really nervous to do it, but I really have an interest in it.”

Edelman’s biggest challenge when it comes to acting is “remembering lines,” which he says is unlike memorizing football plays. “I don’t know how I remember formations and plays and all that stuff. I got to use that football knowledge, but I think that would be something really cool to dive into and continue to work on.”The former wide receiver has been working with an acting coach in Los Angeles, but says he hasn’t felt fully ready to “jump in” amid his busy work schedule. “But I would like to get in that world a little,” says Edelman, who keeps himself ready for anything by making sure he’s taking good care of his nutrition.

The former NFL star recently announced a new campaign through his partnership with One-A-Day to debunk wellness fads and address the trends of misinformation around nutritional shortcuts.

The former wide receiver has been working with an acting coach in Los Angeles, but says he hasn’t felt fully ready to “jump in” amid his busy work schedule. “But I would like to get in that world a little,” says Edelman, who keeps himself ready for anything by making sure he’s taking good care of his nutrition.

The former NFL star recently announced a new campaign through his partnership with One-A-Day to debunk wellness fads and address the trends of misinformation around nutritional shortcuts.

“I was so big into my nutrition during my professional career,” says Edelman. “I had the nutritionist, I took all the supplements, took 14, 15 vitamins a day, and in the locker room I experienced watching guys do all these wellness fads.”

Edelman says he noticed an uptick in those wellness fads among his NFL peers in the “later part” of his career.

“Guys were trying things, trying the diets, trying the supplements, this, that and the other,” he says, noting that now that he lives in Los Angeles, he “naturally sees everyone trying everything to make themselves healthier.”

But Edelman says he relies on “the science” of One-A-Day to keep himself healthy in retirement. “As I retired, I got sick of taking all these different supplements and One-A-Day was super easy to take. It tastes well, and it is proven by science that it works. So it was an easy slam dunk kind of partnership because it’s something that I needed. It was something I believed in and it’s ultimately something science backs up.”