Antonio Gates announced his retirement after 16 seasons with the Chargers. Gates established a legendary career piling up accolades of all degrees along the way.
Players, analysts, fans and observers paid homage via Twitter to the All-Pro tight end after announcing that he is officially hanging up his cleats.
Antonio Gates career:
* 116 receiving TD (most ever by a TE)
* 955 receptions (17th most all-time)
* 11,841 receiving yards (29th most all-time)
* 8 Pro Bowl selections
* 5X an All-Pro
* One of the best red zone receivers everCongrats to a legend ✊✊
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 14, 2020
Congrats to Antonio Gates on his retirement! Gates is one of my top five all time favorite Chargers, even if I was outspoken about not bringing him back the last couple of seasons. Probably not the only chapter in Chargers history that will come to a close in 2020.
— The Lightning Round Podcast (@Lightning_Round) January 14, 2020
The Chargers trying to bring Antonio Gates back when they get Tom Brady. pic.twitter.com/i98XDpdTDF
— Cameron Grant (@HeyCoolCam101) January 14, 2020
Antonio Gates officially retired. I’m gonna go hug my jersey and cry
— Tha_Frederation △⃒⃘ ⚡️ (@Tha_Frederation) January 14, 2020
Think about how many Philip Rivers emotions that Antonio Gates lived through over the years pic.twitter.com/DIEMm9kRRw
— Pick Six Podcast (@picksixpod) January 14, 2020
Even as a Broncos fan I have nothing but respect for Antonio Gates. Crazy to think that a guy who was an undrafted college basketball player made 3 All-Pro Teams, almost caught 1,000 passes, and caught 116 touchdowns. https://t.co/mr1OwKOQbr
— Jake Copestick (@JakeCopestick) January 14, 2020
#AntonioGates retired today. He DOMINATED the Legion of Boom. #GOAT pic.twitter.com/OFeUKVS4Eb
— 🇭🇰 Seanye West (@seanaverage) January 14, 2020
What a pleasure it was to watch and cover Antonio Gates the last 16 years. Class act!
— mark schlereth (@markschlereth) January 14, 2020
I kind of feel Antonio Gates was underrated most of his career. Everyone talked about Gonzalez, Witten and Gronk as the best of the best when they played but Gates put up some good seasons that were overlooked. Definitely deserves a spot in the HOF.
— Josh Allen's Shorts (@JoshAllenShorts) January 14, 2020
I swear to you, this man and Tony Gonzalez were my two biggest inspirations to play both sports in HS and College. As a player in the same league as this man, but also a kid who was inspired to chase his dreams on both the field and court. I say thank you Antonio Gates! https://t.co/16JR64G0BB
— Zach Banner (@ZBNFL) January 14, 2020
Antonio Gates makes it official. His incredible career is complete. Next stop, Canton. pic.twitter.com/UmfaQYkU8r
— Jay Posner (@sdutPosner) January 14, 2020
Antonio Gates, you will be missed. One of the best TE to play and a future HOF.
— LA〽2⃣ (@ThatBoiSilly) January 14, 2020
I feel like we, as a nation, should probably just take a second to applaud how great Antonio Gates was on the field and how lucky we were to live in the era where we could watch him play. 🙌🙌 https://t.co/cfD2lAQrJt
— Jason Karsh (@jkarsh) January 14, 2020
Every single person on this earth had Antonio Gates on their fantasy roster at some point https://t.co/PF3limxaXr
— CM (@CodyM_) January 14, 2020
Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates were the best QB/TE combo ever in 35% of life simulations
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) January 14, 2020