WASHINGTON — Even though they won't be playing in the Super Bowl this year, former NFL stars Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman still have plenty to look forward to ahead of Sunday's championship game in Las Vegas.
"I'm looking forward to the Gronk Beach party. It's just shenanigans," Gronkowski said in an interview with TEGNA Digital. "It's the day before the Super Bowl. We got Flo Rida performing this year, we got DJ Afrojack and it's going to be a good time."
"You can't go to the Super Bowl without going to Gronk Beach," Edelman remarked.
The pair, who won multiple Super Bowls together on the New England Patriots, recently talked with TEGNA as part of their new campaign for Bounty paper towels.
"We've been there for each other since we first met 15 years ago when I was a rookie in the New England Patriots," Gronkowski recalled. "And now he's there for me to be my wingman with Bounty."
The pair also took a trip down memory lane, recalling their biggest messes on the field.
"There was one play against the Indianapolis Colts. We were all fired up as a team and there was some bad blood between us," Edelman said. "Rob got a ball. There's a bunch of guys around him and it was a messy situation. I took one of these guys and laid them out. And Rob ended up scoring a touchdown."
"Julian's always there to clean up my mess," Gronkowski said.
Gronkowski recalled a time where he kept Edelman clear of defenders after then-Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw a backwards pass to the former Patriots wide receiver.
"Julian threw a nice deep ball to our third wingman, the third wheel, Danny Amendola. He caught it and ran it into the end zone," Gronkowski said. "I turned around and I picked up Julian like he was a trophy and swung him around."
Years after being on the field together, the duo still have each other's backs.
Come Super Bowl Sunday, where the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will face off, Gronkowski will have a shot at redemption during FanDuel's Kick of Destiny 2.
Last year, the former Patriots tight end missed a 25-yard field goal attempt during a live Super Bowl commercial.
However, his wingman has no doubt that Gronkowski will make the field goal this year.
"100% he's going make it," Edelman said. "It was the wind last year. And you know, Rob's pissed off about last year. It's easy money."
While you can bet on whether the "Gronk" makes the kick, there's one thing you can't wager: whether the former NFL duo will hang out with Taylor Swift in Las Vegas.
"The only chance of that happening was if Travis Kelce came to Gronk beach again in Vegas like he did when the draft was in Vegas," Gronkowski said. "But there's no chance of him coming to Gronk Beach this year due to him being in the game."
It also effectively kills any hopes of a dance off rematch between Gronkowski and Kelce this year.
