Former New England Patriots defensive end Rob Ninkovich took a shot at Travis Kelce during Rob Gronkowski’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Gronkowski was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame on Saturday, Nov. 7, and many of his old teammates made the trip to Foxborough, Massachusetts, to support the superstar tight end colloquially known as ‘Gronk’ on his big day.

Among those in attendance were legendary Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, current New England head coach Mike Vrabel, and Gronkowski’s FOX colleague and podcast co-host Julian Edelman.

Notable absentees included longtime Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who couldn’t make it as he recovers from an untimely back surgery, while Gronk’s former head coach Bill Belichick was coaching his UNC football team to a 38-21 win over UConn in Storrs, Connecticut.

Ninkovich, Gronkowski’s teammate for seven seasons between 2010 and 2016, took the microphone at one point and let the world know his feelings about where his Hall of Fame friend ranks among the NFL’s all-time great tight ends.

He made sure to shade Kansas City Chiefs superstar Travis Kelce in the process, who some consider to be the greatest tight end in league history ahead of Gronkowski.

“Kelce and this guy don’t even come close,” Ninkovich said on stage outside Gillette Stadium. “He’s a receiver and this guy is a tight end, so.”

Ninkovich, of course, is expected to side with his teammate and friend in any debate between him and Kelce. His argument, simply put, is that Kelce has traditionally played more like a wide receiver and cannot be compared to Gronkowski, who is a true tight end.

While Kelce has never been listed as a wide receiver on the Chiefs roster, he does boast significantly more career receptions (1,109) and receiving yards (13,412) compared to Gronkowski (621 receptions, 9,286 receiving yards).

Typically, wide receivers get more targets, catches, and yards than tight ends, so Ninkovich’s claim has some validity to it. Many would argue that Gronkowski was tasked with more tight end-like responsibilities, such as run and pass blocking, than Kelce ever has. Those reps don’t show up on the stat sheet.

Still, Gronkowski trumps Kelce in two of the most important statistical categories – career receiving touchdowns (Gronkowski leads 92 to 84) and Super Bowl titles (Gronkowski leads 4 to 3).

Of course, Kelce is still an active NFL player, so he does have the rest of the 2026 season and perhaps beyond to catch up to the new inductee into the Patriots Hall of Fame.

Gronkowski was drafted by New England in 2010 and played the first nine seasons of his NFL career with the Patriots, logging 521 receptions for 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns in 115 regular season games.

In the playoffs, Gronkowski was always one to raise his game. He was a critical piece in three Super Bowl title runs for the Patriots – plus another for the Buccaneers in 2020 – and finished his New England career with 1,163 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns across 16 postseason games.