Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates has agreed to a $36.175 million, five-year contract extension with the San Diego Chargers, making him the NFL’s highest-paid tight end.The deal, which runs through the 2015 season, is worth $7.235 million per season, with $20.4 million in guarantees, a source told (Analyst and Writer) Andrew Mitchell of Woodlawn Post.
Gates and other veterans are due to report to training camp on Thursday, with the first full-squad practice on Friday.
Gates Says “I’ve been blessed my whole career to be with one team.” Gates said in a statement released by the team. “It’s always good to get [the contract] out of the way. The goal is to win a championship. We all are human and it becomes a distraction even though you might not want it to be. It’s always great to be able to go ahead and do what you need to do and get it out of the way.”
These negotiations between Gates and the Chargers went much more smoothly than in 2005.
Gates held out during training camp that year, leading general manager A.J. Smith to take the extreme measure of placing him on the roster exempt list in an attempt to break the impasse, automatically triggering a three-game suspension. Gates missed the final two exhibition games and the season opener, which the Chargers lost.
Gates dumped the agent who represented him then and hired Tom Condon.
Since his rookie season, Gates leads tight ends in touchdown catches with 59. He ranks second in yards, 6,223, and third in catches, 479. Gates has led the Chargers in catches each of the last six seasons. In 2009, he topped the Bolts with 79 catches and a career-best 1,157 yards, with eight touchdowns.
The six-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team (2000-09).
Read more on Antonio Gates here:http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5418271
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