Former Chargers tight end Antonio Gates will be inducted into the team Hall of Fame on December 10th against the Broncos at SoFi Stadium.
The announcement came as a surprise to Gates himself, as the Chargers posted in a social media video:
the flood gates are open fr 🥹
welcome to the chargers hof, antonio pic.twitter.com/y0iPabrAPo
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 16, 2023
Gates’ Chargers’ Hall of Fame induction will come before his first year of Pro Football Hall of Fame eligibility in 2024. It’s widely expected that the all-time leader in tight end touchdowns will get into Canton on his first ballot next year.
The former undrafted free agent went on to have an illustrious career in blue and yellow that spanned two decades in two cities. 2023 actually marks 20 years since the Chargers signed Gates as an undrafted free agent. He formally retired in 2020 after not playing in the 2019 season.
By the end of his career, Gates was an 8x Pro Bowler, 3x First Team All-Pro, 2x Second Team All-Pro and made the HOF All-2000s team. He finished his career with 11,841 receiving yards and 116 touchdowns. Perhaps the crowning achievement of his career was when he broke the tight end touchdown record in Los Angeles against the Miami Dolphins:
Antonio Gates' record-breaking touchdown. pic.twitter.com/Zh29p573Wa
— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) September 17, 2017
The Chargers are stingy about which numbers they formally retire even with their own Hall of Fame inductees, but it feels very likely (though not confirmed) that Gates’ No. 85 will be retired at the same ceremony.
