FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Julian Edelman has been chosen by the fans as a member of the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2025, the team announced on Monday.
Edelman, who played his entire 12-year career with the Patriots, joined the team in 2009 as a seventh-round pick from Kent State. He became a key player on three Super Bowl-winning teams after switching from college quarterback to wide receiver in the NFL.
This was Edelman’s first year of eligibility for the Patriots Hall of Fame, which requires a player to have been retired for at least four seasons. A Patriots Hall of Fame committee, made up of members of the media, former players and coaches, and team media personnel, named him a finalist alongside kicker Adam Vinatieri (1996-2005) and offensive lineman Logan Mankins (2005-13).
The fans’ vote, which took place over several weeks, determined the only member who would be included, a process established in 2007.
Julian Edelman is one of the great success stories in the history of our franchise. There aren’t many players who make it into the NFL in a position they’ve never played before. Julian not only did it as a seventh-round pick, but he ended his career with the second-most receptions in franchise history (620) and as a three-time Super Bowl champion, including his last as Super Bowl MVP.
Robert Kraft, owner
Edelman posted on X on Monday that he felt “honored and grateful.” The post included a video in which he called his father to share the news.
Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick had the foresight to project that Edelman, who finished his career at Kent State with 4,997 passing yards and 2,664 rushing yards in 31 games, could transition to receiver and kick returner in the NFL. That led the Patriots to select him with the 232nd pick of the 256-selection draft in 2009.
However, Edelman’s transition was not smooth. In his first training camp, he struggled to catch punts and at one point was booed by fans.
Edelman was more of a niche player in his first four NFL seasons, totaling 69 receptions for 714 yards and four touchdowns, before breaking out in 2013 with a season of 105 receptions and 1,056 yards as the primary target of quarterback Tom Brady.
From there, his career took off, with perhaps his best play coming in the team’s 34-28 comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI with a sensational diving catch on a deflected ball late in the fourth quarter.
The play reflected how Edelman, as Kraft pointed out, was one of the most important players for the Patriots. He ranks third in NFL history with 118 postseason receptions, behind Travis Kelce (178) and Jerry Rice (151). His 1,442 postseason receiving yards also place him third all-time, behind Rice (2,245) and Kelce (2,078).
In the Patriots’ 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII, he was named MVP after finishing with 10 receptions for 141 yards.
While Edelman is widely considered worthy of Patriots Hall of Fame honors, his selection by fans over Vinatieri, who was also in his first year of eligibility after the 2024 voting process was postponed to include Brady, will likely generate debate about how much influence fans should have in selecting the honoree.
Like Edelman, Vinatieri was part of three Super Bowl champion teams in New England (2001, 2003, 2004) and his kick in the “Snow Bowl” in a divisional round victory over the Raiders on January 19, 2002, is considered by some as the best kick in NFL history, a play that many see as the official beginning of what led to the Patriots dynasty that included six Super Bowls.
Vinatieri, who later played for the Indianapolis Colts (2006-19) when the Patriots didn’t offer him a comparable long-term contract after using the franchise tag in successive years, was also a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year in his first year of eligibility.Edelman will join former coach Bill Parcells (1993-96) as this year’s inductees into the Patriots Hall of Fame. Kraft used his position as owner to include Parcells in the Hall of Fame as a contributor after he had been voted a finalist five times.
