Rob Gronkowski Settles The Bill Belichick GOAT Debate With A Bold Statement Before New England Patriots Face Green Bay Packers

Rob Gronkowski makes bold GOAT claim about Bill Belichick© Getty via AFP

Rob Gronkowski has settled the Bill Belichick GOAT debate, at least in his own mind. Inducted into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame on Saturday, November 7, ahead of Week 9's home game against the Green Bay Packers, the former tight end called his old coach the greatest of all time and then, being Gronk, made a joke about hot tubs. Belichick coached the franchise for 24 seasons, and Mike Vrabel runs it now. Tom Brady, Julian Edelman, Troy Brown and Josh McDaniels filled out a guest list that looked a lot like the dynasty years.

Gronkowski calls Belichick the greatest of all time

According to Sophie Weller of Patriots Wire, Gronkowski did not bother hedging, and he saved the sharpest line for the end.

“The greatest of all time, no question about it…Thank you for doing whatever you felt necessary to get me to play at a high level. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to put our teams in the best possible situations. And thank you for drafting this so-called a-hole who would only talk about hot tubs on his pre-draft visits.”

Belichick, for his part, was not in a speaking mood about his former star during the ceremony, so the moment belonged to Gronkowski.

What makes the praise interesting is the pairing. Gronkowski is the party maven of those teams and Belichick was the straight-laced coach who ran them, yet it was under that tight structure that Gronkowski became one of the best tight ends the league has seen, and his speech suggests he has never forgotten it.

Tom Brady draws a loud ovation at the ceremony

Brady's presence drew some of the biggest applause of the day, with the crowd giving him a loud ovation as soon as people realized he had shown up.

It was the obvious guest to have. Together they formed one of the great duos in NFL history, first in New England and later with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Gronkowski's nine seasons with the Patriots included three Super Bowl titles alongside Brady.

The setting also made for an awkward comparison. The current Patriots are short at wide receiver with AJ Brown out, and Drake Maye does not have a star target to lean on the way Brady once leaned on Gronkowski.