Antonio Gates went from a Kent State University basketball standout to a star tight end with the NFL's Chargers to a legend who has attained football immortality in Canton .
Gates , 44, is among three modern-era players who have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2025 , an outcome announced Thursday night during the "NFL Honors" awards show. Other modern-era players elected were Eric Allen and Jared Allen , and Sterling Sharpe was elected from the seniors category.
This is Gates' second year of eligibility. He was also a finalist in 2024, when he surprisingly fell short of receiving the minimum requirement of 80% of the vote from the Hall of Fame's selection committee.
After Gates played hoops for two seasons at Kent State, helping the Golden Flashes advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in 2002, the San Diego Chargers signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He hadn't played organized football since his senior season at Central High School in Detroit .
Still, it didn't take long for Gates to transfer his dominance on the court to the gridiron.
In Gates' second NFL season, he caught a career-high 13 touchdown passes and earned the first of eight Pro Bowl selections and the first of three first-team All-Pro nods. He also received second-team All-Pro honors twice and a spot on the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 2000s.
Gates played 16 seasons from 2003-18, all with the Chargers, who moved back to Los Angeles in 2017. He compiled 955 catches for 11,841 yards and 116 touchdowns — the most receiving TDs by a tight end in NFL history. He ranks seventh in all-time TD receptions and is tied for third with 39 TD catches on third down. He holds Chargers career records for catches, yards and receiving TDs.
In 12 career playoff games, Gates added 51 catches for 540 yards and two touchdowns.
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Listed as 6 feet, 4 inches and 255 pounds during his playing days, Gates had eight seasons with eight-plus receiving touchdowns and 21 career multi-TD games. Both are the most ever by a tight end.
Soon Gates will have a permanent presence in Northeast Ohio, where his bronze bust will greet the Hall of Fame's visitors. Not bad for someone who didn't even play college football.
More local connections to the NFL: Walsh Jesuit High School graduate Mike Vrabel is New England Patriots coach
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Antonio Gates elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2025 class
