George Kittle and Travis Kelce will never line up against each other in Super Bowl LIV on Sunday in Miami, but it's still one of the marquee matchups of the game.

Kelce is a two-time First-Team All-Pro tight end, having earned the honor in 2016 and 2018. Kittle snatched the honor away from Kelce this season.

They arguably are the two best tight ends in the NFL.

So which superstar is better? Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe spoke to NBC Sports Bay Area's Scott Bair about that very topic on Radio Row in Miami on Wednesday.

First, Sharpe was asked to pick which player was better at each ability:

Better blocker: Kittle

Better receiver: Kelce

Better at getting yards after the catch: Push

Better swagger: Kelce

Which player is more entertaining?

"Both of those guys are entertaining, but I think Kittle with his WWE style, I think that's what sets him apart," Sharpe said.

Finally, when asked which player was better, Sharpe gave a long-winded answer before making his pick.

"It is very, very close," Sharpe said. "If you look at what they've been able to do over the last three to four years, the only difference is that Kelce has been able to remain a little healthier throughout the course of his career than George Kittle. But this might be the closest two great players are that I can remember because if you look at the quarterback position ... do we think there's another player close to Patrick Mahomes? No. We look at defensive tackles, do we think there's a defensive tackle close to Aaron Donald? No.

"But these guys are very, very, very, very close. When I say you're splitting hairs, you're literally splitting hairs, I'm talking about mosquito hairs, not no grizzly bear hairs. For me, it's just a matter of, because they're both in the same offense, they play the West Coast (offense), both coaches do a great job of getting them matched up, they do a very good job of run after the catch. But I would probably say, as far as consistency, I would give a slight nod to Kittle for the simple fact that I think he drops a few fewer passes than Kelce. Kelce's looking to get the home run every single time, so he drops a few passes that he should catch because he's looking for the big play."

There you have it. One of the nine Hall of Fame tight ends picked Kittle over Kelce.

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Hopefully for Kittle and the 49ers, they come out on top again on Sunday.

Programming note: NBC Sports Bay Area feeds your hunger for 49ers Super Bowl coverage with special editions of “49ers Central” all week (8:30 p.m. Thursday, 9:30 p.m. Friday, and 3 p.m. Saturday).



Also tune in at 1 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday for a two-hour special of "49ers Pregame Live" with Laura Britt, Donte Whitner, Jeff Garcia, Ian Williams, Kelli Johnson, Greg Papa and Grant Liffmann. That same crew will have all the postgame reaction on "49ers Postgame Live," starting immediately after the game.