The New England Patriots take on the Green Bay Packers in a marquee Week 9 matchup. Patriots great Rob Gronkowski will be honored during halftime of that game after getting inducted to the team's Hall of Fame on Saturday.
However, Patriots owner Robert Kraft will be “on injured reserve” due to back surgery, and will not be present for the ceremony or the game.
“As much pain as I was in before having surgery, it pains me even more to miss the ceremony,” Kraft told ESPN.
Kraft, 85, also won't be able to make it to Munich, where the Patriots will face the Detroit Lions the following week. He cracked a joke about being Gronk, who also underwent multiple back surgeries.
“I always told Gronk that in my next life, I wanted to come back as him because I had never seen him have a bad day. But after a couple of back surgeries, I take that back. I never want to experience that again,” Kraft said.
Gronkowski was voted into the Patriots Hall of Fame by fans in April in his first year of eligibility. He is currently part of Fox's pregame show and will be covering the Packers-Patriots game before being honored at halftime.
A 2nd-round by the Patriots in 2010, Gronkowski emerged as one of the key members of a New England dynasty led by Tom Brady that dominated the 2010s. In nine seasons with the Pats, he played in 115 games, matching 521 receptions for 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns. He also added 81 catches for 1,163 yards and 12 touchdowns in the playoffs.