Antonio Gates
Antonio Gates | |||||||||
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Gates with the San Diego Chargers in 2016 | |||||||||
| Born | June 18, 1980 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||
| Alma mater | Kent State University | ||||||||
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American football career | |||||||||
| No. 85 | |||||||||
| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
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| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 255 lb (116 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Central (Detroit) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2003: undrafted | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Basketball career | |||||||||
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| High school | Central (Detroit) | ||||||||
| College |
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| Position | Power forward | ||||||||
| Number | 44 | ||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||
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Antonio Ethan Gates Jr. (born June 18, 1980) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 16-year career as a tight end for the San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) from 2003 to 2018. He was named to the Pro Bowl eight times and was a six-time All-Pro selection. Gates was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025.
Gates was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2003 after playing college basketball for the Kent State Golden Flashes. He attended college at Kent State University in 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. He ranks seventh in career touchdown receptions, with 116, and leads all tight ends in NFL history. Gates is considered one of the best tight ends and undrafted free agents in NFL history.