‘They’re a little jealous’: Danny Amendola spills what his former teammates really thought of his ‘DWTS’ journey

As avid Dancing With the Stars fans know, the award-winning show is known for taking celebrities famous for something besides dancing and turning them into ballroom beauties — from Bachelor Nation members to actors/actresses to athletes, and beyond. This year, three athletes made it to the Nov. 27 finale — Olympians Ilona Maher, Stephen Nedoroscik, and former New England Patriots player Danny Amendola — but the most surprising had to be the latter.

Danny might not have seemed like a musical maestro when the season 33 cast was announced, but he and his professional dance partner, Witney Carson, proved otherwise. Earning the highest scores of the evening in some episodes, and ultimately coasting their way to the finale, Danny and Witney’s Dancing With the Stars scores are as follows:

• DWTS Premiere — Tango to “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey & David Guetta (20/30)
• “Oscars Night” — Jive to “Danger Zone” from Top Gun (21/30)
• “Soul Train Night” — Foxtrot to “Dancing Machine” by The Jackson 5 (30/40)
• “Hair Metal Night” — Paso Doble to “Livin’ On A Prayer” by Bon Jovi (30/40)
• “Dedication Night” — Contemporary to “Unsteady (Erich Lee Gravity Remix)” by X Ambassadors (36/40)
• “Disney Night” — Jazz to “Bye Bye Bye” from Deadpool & Wolverine (27/30)
• “Halloween Nightmares Night” — Argentine Tango to “Poison” by RAVN (28/30)
• DWTS 500th Episode — Quickstep to “Hey Pachuco” by Royal Crown Revue (27/30)
• DWTS Semi-Final — Viennese Waltz to “Gravity” by John Mayer (27/30) and Salsa to “I Like It” by Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin (27/30)
• DWTS Finale — Tango to “I Had Some Help” by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen (27/30) and Freestyle to “Pink” by Lizzo and “I’m Just Ken” by Ryan Gosling (29/30)

Unfortunately, these scores did not land Danny and Witney a podium position, as they took home a fifth-place finish instead.

Nevertheless, Danny’s former teammates from the New England Patriots, notably Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman were impressed by his stellar dancing skills throughout the season, with Danny spilling the tea on Good Morning America on Nov. 27.

Here’s what he had to say:

“Honestly, I think they’re a little jealous I’m a better dancer than them now,” he joked, before adding that they were actually “super supportive the whole time.”

He continued:

“Julian actually came out to one of the shows and supported… They were super pumped for us, and they really grasped onto the whole cast, so it was fun.”

Concluding the conversation, Good Morning America host Michael Strahan asked if Danny had received any advice from Gronkowski or Edelman, who are known for busting a move each and every Sunda, but Danny swiftly replied with a smile, “Ballroom dance is a little different than what Gronk does.” Naturally, this resulted in a roar of laughter from the Dancing With the Stars pros and celebrity contestants.

In the comment section of the above TikTok video, one Dancing With the Stars fan wrote, “@gronk should be a contestant and partner with @Witney Carson,” and we seriously could not agree more!

While we anxiously await the Dancing With the Stars season 34 cast — crossing our fingers that Gronk is a part of it — you can relive the highs and the lows of season 33 by streaming all episodes via either Disney Plus or Hulu. Spoiler alert: yesterday’s finale is truly a must-see!