Antonio Gates

At 44 years old, Antonio Gates has this physical status:

Antonio Ethan Gates Jr. (born June 18, 1980) is an American football tight end who is currently a free agent.

He has been selected into the Pro Bowl eight times and is a five-time All-Pro.Gates was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2003 after playing college basketball for Kent State University.

He attended college at Kent State his junior and senior years after brief stints at Michigan State University and Eastern Michigan University.

He is the Chargers' career leader in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.

In 2015, he became the second tight end and ninth player overall to record 100 career touchdown receptions.

Following the 2017 season, the Chargers did not renew his contract, and he was not expected to play in 2018, but pre-season injuries depleted the Chargers at tight end, and the Chargers re-signed him in September 2018, and he went on to play in every regular and post-season game for the Chargers.

He ranks sixth in career touchdown receptions, with 116, and leads all tight ends in NFL history.

Gates is considered one of the best undrafted free agents in NFL history.

Early years

Gates was born in Detroit, where he played high school football at Central High School.

Personal life

Gates married his longtime girlfriend, model Sasha Dindayal, on July 9, 2011. As of 2014, the couple resided in Encino, California.

Gates appeared in the fourth episode of season one and the final episode of season six of The League. This is also where the reference George ‘top’ and Tony ‘bottom’ originated.

Gates has a son, Antonio Gates Jr., who is (as of 2022) a freshman wide receiver for the Michigan State Spartans.

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College career

Gates played basketball but not football in college, but not football in college. He enrolled at Michigan State University in the hopes of playing football under then-coach Nick Saban, as well as basketball under coach Tom Izzo. Saban wanted him to play only football when he first enrolled. Gates then opted to play basketball by moving to Eastern Michigan University. He appeared at the College of the Sequoias, a junior college in California, for academics. Stan Heath, Gates recruited him to Kent State University in northeastern Ohio.

Gates spent two seasons as a Golden Flash as a power forward. He averaged 16.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game during his junior season. After winning the regular season with a 24–1 record in the MAC, his squad captured its first regular season Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship in school history. Gates was instrumental in the Golden Flashes' second straight MAC tournament and a finalist spot in the 2002 NCAA Tournament. He played a key role in the tournament, assisting Kent State in qualifying as a 10 seed by upsetting 7 seed Oklahoma State (69–60), 2 seed Alabama (71–78), and 3 seed Pittsburgh (78–73).

Since being averaging 20.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game throughout his senior season, he was given an honorable mention All-American award from the Associated Press. In two years of playing, he finished with a record of 54-16.

His jersey number, 44, was retired on February 27, 2010, marking him as the fourth Golden Flash to be honoured.

Professional career

Gates (6'4") arranged a workout in front of NFL scouts after being told by scouts that he was too much of a "tweener" to make the NBA. Despite never having played college football, as many as 19 clubs were reported to have contacted Gates about a tryout. Gates chose San Diego to start first. The Chargers right away understood his potential, signing him to a deal as an undrafted free agent.

Gates' elevation from third string to starter was missing in San Diego's league-worst 4-12 record. In Week 4 against the Oakland Vikings, he recorded his first touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings, and enjoyed his first 100-yard receiving game against the Green Bay Packers. Gates was selected by several experts to have a breakout season in 2004 after a solid 2003 rookie season in which he passed 24 passes for 389 yards and two scores. His 16.2 yards per reception were the longest of his career.

Drew Brees, quarterback Drew Brees, had 81 receptions for 964 yards and 13 touchdowns in his second season in the league.

In a 21–0 victory over the Cleveland Browns on December 19, Gates tied the NFL single season record for touchdown receptions by a close margin (12) — he went on to smash this record in an overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts on December 26.

Gates was selected to the 2005 Pro Bowl and scored a touchdown pass from Colts quarterback Peyton Manning to help the AFC win by 38–27. In addition, Gates was the recipient of a 33-yard pass from teammate Drew Brees in a flea-flicker play chosen by fans online.

Gates signed a six-year contract with the San Diego Chargers on August 23, 2005, after being refused a contract extension. Gates was suspended for one game – the Dallas Cowboys' home opener – because of his holdout. Gates went on to have another stellar season, catching 89 passes for 1,101 yards and ten touchdowns, but the Chargers missed the playoffs by a single point.

With Drew Brees' departure during the offseason, it was predicted that Gates would see a decrease in production in 2006, with first-year starter Philip Rivers at the helm. Gates had a slow start to the season, but he rebounded well and finished with 924 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. On December 10, he made two touchdown passes against the Denver Broncos to help the Chargers clinch their division.

For the third year in a row, Gates was both a Pro Bowler and All-Pro. The Chargers and their followers aspired to the Super Bowl after being defeated by the New England Patriots at home by a score of 24-21.

Gates was not selected to the All Pro team in 2007, but he was chosen to the Pro Bowl. He has passed for 984 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. During the Chargers' 11-05 season, he was a deciding factor, but not during the playoffs. Right before the season, Gates dislocated a toe on his right foot, which slowed him down during the Chargers' playoff run.

Gates was not the only Chargers player hospitalized: both LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers sustained leg injuries, which hampered the Chargers' hopes of qualifying for the Super Bowl. However, the Chargers did eventually play in the AFC Championship, losing 21–12 to the Patriots.

Gates said he was leaning toward surgery to repair a dislocated left big toe that slowed his success in the 2007–08 NFL playoffs, but he was undecided on whether or not to have surgery. Gates also dropped out of his fifth Pro Bowl pick due to his injuries with teammate LaDainian Tomlinson. Gates finished the season with 60 receptions for 714 yards and eight touchdowns.

Gates said on February 23, 2008, he would require foot surgery to repair the injury that had slowed him down in the final stretch of the season. He will need to recover in 4 to six months. Gates seemed uncertain about his availability for Week 1 and even appeared to be concerned about his future for the first day of the 2008 season; however, he continued to play every game despite concerns that his toe was bothering him during the first half of the season. He had 60 receptions for 7404 yards and eight touchdowns on the season.

Gates had his best year of his career after three seasons of injury-plagued seasons. He completed 79 passes for a career-best 1,157 yards and eight touchdowns. In ten of the team's first 11 games, he hauled in at least five passes in ten of the team's first 11 games.

The team had 13 victories this year, one of the year's best records. In their first postseason game by the New York Jets, they were ruled out.

Gates began the 2010 season by agreeing to a five-year, $36 million contract with $20 million as a guarantee. He had 40 receptions and nine touchdowns in the first nine games of the 2010 season.

Despite being limited by foot injuries during the second half of the 2010 season, Gates received his Pro Bowl pick for his seventh year in a row; however, Gates did not participate in the game due to his lingering injuries.

Gates tried to recover from his ongoing foot injury, but he was forced to miss Weeks 3–5. For the seventh time in his career, he bounced back from the bye week and started every game the rest of the way. He has also scored seven touchdowns and been named in his eighth Pro Bowl. On a fourth-and-five catch, Gates became the Chargers' all-time receptions leader on a six-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter against Detroit. It was his 587th career catch, defeating Charlie Joiner's 586.

Gates had another record-breaking season, with 600 career catches and runner-up for the most touchdowns in Chargers franchise history with 83. The tight end and his quarterback Philip Rivers combined for a total of 56 touchdown receptions, the most out of any QB-tight end team in the NFL.

Gates played all 16 games for the first time since 2009, receiving 70 receptions (77%) for the fourth time in his career. However, Gates' rookie season in 2003 only had four touchdowns, his fewest since his rookie season.

In Week 7, Gates beat Lance Alworth to become the Chargers' career leader in receiving yards against the Broncos. He became the fourth tight end in NFL history to pass 10,000 yards in career receiving yards in the season's last game against the Kansas City Chiefs. He finished the season with 12 touchdowns, his fourth player in league history to play 12 or more touchdowns in a season at the age 34. His coworkers named him the Chargers' Offensive Player of the Year, and he was selected as an alternate for the Pro Bowl but declined.

Gates would be suspended for the first four games of the 2015 season for breaching the NFL's guidelines on performance enhancer drugs (PEDs), according to the NFL. Gates scored his 100th and 101st touchdown receptions in his first game back from a four-game suspension on October 12, 2015. He will finish the season with 630 yards and five touchdowns on 56 receptions. Gates signed a two-year contract extension on March 9, 2016, extending his contract with the Chargers.

In 2016, Gates played in 14 games, beginning with nine. He had 53 passes for 538 yards and seven touchdowns. His completion rate, at 8.3 yards per reception and 57%, was his lowest level of his career.

He scored his 112nd touchdown pass against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2, which tied for the most touchdowns as a tight end. Gates only started four games and ended with 30 receptions for a career-low 316 yards and three touchdowns following the introduction of second-year tight end Hunter Henry as a starter.

Gates will not be returning him for the 2018 season until April 27, 2018.

Following an injury to Hunter Henry, Gates re-signed with the Los Angeles Chargers on September 2, 2018. He scored his first receiving touchdown of the season in Week 4 against the San Francisco 49ers.

Gates announced his retirement on January 14, 2020. He finished his career with a 96 touchdown grabs by a tight end, with 89 throwing by Rivers for the most straight end duo ever. He also ranked as the Chargers' franchise leader in receptions (955) and receiving yards (11,841).

Gates revealed in 2020 that he would be joining the Los Angeles Chargers front office as the Legends Ambassador.

NFL career statistics

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Records and awards

• Seventh tight end with 500 career receptions.
• Number 44 retired by Kent State.
• Ninth player, and second tight end, to catch 100 career receiving touchdowns.
• Most career touchdowns by a tight end (116)