Who is the best tight end? Comparison Rob Gronkowski vs. Travis Kelce
The defending champion Kansas City Chiefs locked up their star tight end for another two years after signing Travis Kelce to an extension on Monday.
Things just keep getting better for Travis Kelce. He’s coming off his third Super Bowl win, he’s dating the most famous pop star in the world, and he just got a new contact that will keep him in Kansas City and allow him to add to the Chiefs’ collection of Lombardi trophies for the coming years.
Kelce stating in KC for the long run
Kelce inked the two year contract extension just months after the Chiefs claimed their second straight Super Bowl win, and the third in what has been an incredible run over the last six years. The deal, worth $34.25 millions dollars will keep him at Arrowhead until 2027.
The KC tight end has been in the the conversation for greatest ever tight end for the last few years, and every year he not only adds to his stats, but has added championship rings to back up his claim to be the best tight end the game has ever seen.
Former Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez has the most receiving yards of any one who has ever played the position, registering over 15,000 yards over the course of his Hall of Fame career. While Gonzalez had the stats to back his place in the best of all time conversation, he never won a ring.
Gronk vs. Kelce
Kelce has both the stats and the rings. So too does Rob Gronkowski, who was a big part of the New England Patriots dynasty at the end of the Tom Brady era in Foxborough, and then following his quarterback to Tampa Bay.
Gronk played significantly fewer games then Kelce or any tight end in the top 10 statistically, but still posted 9,286 yards (6th), and scoring 92 TDs (3rd) on 961 catches (10th) in 143 games. And then there’s the rings. Gronk is without question the winningest tight end the game has ever seen up until now. He won three Super Bowls with the Pats and one with Tampa Bay before retiring for good.
Kelce is just one ring behind Gronk, after winning back-to-back titles in the last two years. His 11,328 yards are fourth on the all time list, and his 74 TDs are tied for fifth with former Dallas Cowboy Jason Witten. He has 907 receptions in his 159 games and obviously with three more years on his contract, he has plenty of time to climb up the statistical ladder.
The way the Chiefs have been dominating the NFL over the last five years, you wouldn’t bet against him or Kansas City to add to the list. These lists, and rankings and conversations are subjective, but you can’t deny that the KC tight end deserves to be in the conversation for best to ever play the position.