Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is pulling back the curtain on NFL players’ rather unusual game day bathroom breaks.
When asked how professional football players go to the bathroom in the middle of the game, Edelman, 38, explained that desperate times call for desperate measures.
“Usually you go right on the sideline,” the former player exclusively told Us Weekly. “You’ll see two trainers that hold towels. You go right by the water cooler and you get on your knees, you pull your pants down [and] you go.”
According to the three-time Super Bowl champ, NFL team trainers are “really good” at helping players conceal their, um, selves when nature calls mid-game.
“Trainers are really good,” he explained, adding that it’s common for players to help hide themselves on the sidelines between a water station and a headset station.
“So you’re in between those two stations, and then two trainers will hold towels right next to you,” he continued. “They’re seeing everything, but the people aren’t.”
Edelman went on to joke that it “probably costs too much money for the NFL” to supply portable toilets for every team. (The average NFL team is worth roughly $6 billion.)
Edelman spoke to Us as he’s preparing to cover the 2025 Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles as a FOX Sports commentator — a first for the retired wide receiver.
“I’m very excited,” the athlete gushed. “I’ve done the Super Bowl, not as a player retired, but this will be the first [time] that I get to cover it with FOX. We have a three-hour kickoff show, which is super exciting. I love getting to work with the guys that we work with. And the ladies, Erin Andrews and Chrissa Thompson — it’s just been so much fun.”
Edelman also gave a shout-out to his former teammate and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, adding that he “can’t wait to see Tom and hear his insight about the game” in part because he can provide “unique” commentary.
“No one can really speak of what Patrick Mahomes is doing right now, but Tom,” he continued. “So I think that’s going to be exciting.”
Perhaps haunted by his sideline bathroom breaks, Edelman is equally excited for Angel Soft’s first Super Bowl commercial, specifically designed to be missed so football fans can take their own bathroom break before this year’s halftime performance.
According to Angel Soft, nine out of 10 people have admitted to missing something important because they were in the bathroom. (NFL players, however, are apparently immune.)
“They’re taking out a full commercial at the Super Bowl to allow all of us who are glued to the TV — because of the game and the commercials — to take a bathroom break,” Edelman explained. “A little angel — we don’t have her right here, but she’s such a cutie. It’s just a reminder.”