Chargers Give Gates Ultimatum

[Red]

The San Diego Chargers have made their move in the contract stalemate with All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates.

FOXSports.com has learned that the Chargers sent Gates a letter informing him that if he does not sign his tender (reported to be $380,000) by Saturday, he will be held out of both the season opener against Dallas in addition to the last two preseason games.

The letter also states that for every preseason and regular season game he misses after Saturday's game, he will be sat for an extra game. In other words, if Gates does not sign his tender until after the preseason, he will miss the first three games of the season, as the contract impasse between the two sides now hits another level. He will also not receive a game check for those games he is forced to sit.

For the games Gates is forced to miss, he will be held off the team's 53-man roster.

Gates last year was named an All Pro and wants to be paid along the lines of Chiefs' perennial Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez. The Chargers have negotiated with Gates for a while, but when they could not get a deal done prior to camp, Gates boycotted training camp.

Gates, who did not play college football, had a breakout year in 2004, making 81 catches for 964 yards and 13 touchdowns.

If ever there were a guy who "deserved" to get his deal redone, it's Gates.

How do you see this palying out Blotfan?

[BSmack]

Yea, the Chargers are going to sit the best reciever they've got.

I don't fucking think so. This ain't nothing but flexing.

[BBMarley]

If ever there were a guy who "deserved" to get his deal redone, it's Gates.

YEAH! Because one good season proves how well the rest of your career is going to go!

Sin,

[Joe in PB]

Comparing Gates to Maddox? Bwhahaha right......

Gates is a stud and has his head on straight. I have no doubt he'll be a very good player for years to come barring a career ending injury.

He's an exclusive rights FA and it will be 3 years before he's an unrestricted FA. He's asking for Tony G money and the Chargers are evidently willing to pay him, but they want the salary cap relief of a long term contract. Gates wants to get paid now and be an unrestricted FA in 3 years. It bothers me that it has come down to this considering Gates is the Bolts # 1 receiving threat, but I think the Bolts are wise to insist on the longer deal.

I think he's smart enough to do what Hines Ward did, and come to camp and get the deal done.

[BBMarley]

Comparing Gates to Maddox? Bwhahaha right......

Gates is a stud and has his head on straight. I have no doubt he'll be a very good player for years to come barring a career ending injury.

He's an exclusive rights FA and it will be 3 years before he's an unrestricted FA. He's asking for Tony G money and the Chargers are evidently willing to pay him, but they want the salary cap relief of a long term contract. Gates wants to get paid now and be an unrestricted FA in 3 years. It bothers me that it has come down to this considering Gates is the Bolts # 1 receiving threat, but I think the Bolts are wise to insist on the longer deal.

I think he's smart enough to do what Hines Ward did, and come to camp and get the deal done.

I agree- I think he'll be great- but I agree with Paul- one good year does not neccesarily mean he WILL be great. He needs to go out and top his number from last year- prove he's the real deal- then ask for a big contract. (Plus the long term thing will help the team in the long run with the salary cap- not a concern he appears to have)

I only brought up Maddox b/c he sprung to my mind when I thought of one year wonders. All the one year wonders appear to be studs- until they're not

[Joe in PB]

Supposedly money per se isn't the hold up. It's the length of contract. The Chargers aren't going to give him more than the minimum unless Gates agrees to a long-term deal. His agent is dragging his feet on a workable deal with his own self-imposed deadline of the season opener looming. GM AJ Smith just changed the framing of the negotiations so the stalling tactics being employed will now have consequences.

[DallasFanatic]

Gates wants to be paid now, and I can't blame him for not wanting to sign a long term deal. I mean why would he want to spend the prime years of his career playing for a crap franchise who peeks its head into the playoff picture once a decade?

I see him playing for the minimum and holding off on a long term deal so he can play for a winner.

[War Wagon]

Gates last year was named an All Pro and wants to be paid along the lines of Chiefs' perennial Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez.

Tony played at a high level for 5+ years before he finally scored a big contract, and this guy thinks he's worth T-Gon money after one good season?

[trev]

Gates wants to be paid now, and I can't blame him for not wanting to sign a long term deal. I mean why would he want to spend the prime years of his career playing for a crap franchise who peeks its head into the playoff picture once a decade?

I see him playing for the minimum and holding off on a long term deal so he can play for a winner.

*yawn*

He'll stay with the Chargers. Meanwhile, your team will continue to bore us to tears.

[DallasFanatic]

Oh Trev, what a response. You must have put a lot of thought into that one. What a drunkin cunt. Stick to the kitchen.

[Joe in PB]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/ch ... index.html

By Kevin Acee
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

2:44 p.m. August 20, 2005

SAN DIEGO – All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates will report Sunday to the Chargers, his agent said Saturday afternoon.

After a morning of negotiations between agent Andre Colona and the team, the sides were no closer in agreement on the length or monetary details of a contract, and Gates missed the team's 12:30 p.m. deadline Saturday to report.

The team promptly issued a statement saying Gates would be placed on the Roster Exempt List when he reported, which the team says means he will miss the Sept. 11 season opener against Dallas.

According to the "NFL Management Handbook," however, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue could lift the exemption sooner than the usual three games.

"Antonio and I believe (the Chargers) backed themselves into a corner," Colona said. "No one said Antonio wasn't going to report. For them to impose the Roster Exemption and say he had to miss games, they didn't have to do that.

"Our interpretation is they could call the commissioner and request he lift the roster exemption. The big issue is if Antonio reports, is San Diego going to punish its fans and Antonio and his teammates by not requesting the commissioner lift the exemption."

Encouraging that they were at least talking this morning....

[Jeff 2K5]

I see Cowcunt fan has slithered his way in here............ :roll:

[JHawkBCD]

Here's my ultimatum for Gates:

Knock off that "hi-may-I-hepp-you?" bullshit.*















* if you're not from KC, you won't get it.

[trev]

I'm pretty sure it's just contract games, etc. This player/agent relationship crap is not even worth following. If they cut a deal, great for us. (Which I think they will.) I don't think Gates is lying when he says he wants to play for us. We won't miss him at all for one game. So, it's really a non story. For me anyway. :wink:

[Headhunter]

We'll see if you're singing the same tune after an opening day loss to the Boys!

[BSmack]

Leave it to the Chargers to figure out a way to fuck this up.

[ChargerMike]

If ever there were a guy who "deserved" to get his deal redone, it's Gates.

WRONG- Gates had all of ONE SEASON'S worth of putting up numbers. Dude has no choice but to sign the deal presented to him and go out and do it AGAIN this year. THEN he has reason to get the $$$ he's looking for. He needs to look no further than what Drew Brees did.

Nice call Paul.


sin



TOUCHDOWN SAN DIEGO!!TOUCHDOWN SAN DIEGO!!

[trev]

Leave it to the Chargers to figure out a way to fuck this up.

Actually the Chargers have been making a whole lot of good deals the last few years. What have they fucked up in your opinion?

[Joe in PB]

Done deal. :wink:


GATES AGREES TO SIX YEAR DEAL

Chargers Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates has agreed to terms on a new six-year contract. Additional terms of the contract were not disclosed. Gates will sign the contract Tuesday afternoon.

[BSmack]

Done deal. :wink:


GATES AGREES TO SIX YEAR DEAL

Chargers Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates has agreed to terms on a new six-year contract. Additional terms of the contract were not disclosed. Gates will sign the contract Tuesday afternoon.

It's a good thing they got this deal done. But they still can't excuse the kind of stupidity that led them to inadvertently bench their best deep recieving threat for one game.

[Joe in PB]

I have the feeling the deal wouldn't have got done by now without the suspension. AJ Smith is quite the poker player. Now lets get ready for some football!

[BSmack]

But they still can't excuse the kind of stupidity that led them to inadvertently bench their best deep recieving threat for one game.

They didn't excuse the stupidity. They punished it.

Gates is a grown man allegedly. It's his responsibility to get his sorry ass to work on time.

You idiot. Gates just got paid BIG TIME. How the fuck did they punish him?

They punished their fans and themselves.

[ChargerMike]

Hope you enjoyed that last year Mike- Derrick Johnson will see to it that Gates won't even SNIFF the end zone this year.

Well now, DJ brings a hellava college resume' to the NFL. The fact that a rook moves right into a starting slot on that KC...uh..D (?) say's...well it say's KC's D is sucking goat choads.

I'd say DJ gets sucked into the play-action as Gates streaks away into the secondary for a score..yeah, that's the ticket..uh yeah!

[ChargerMike]

But they still can't excuse the kind of stupidity that led them to inadvertently bench their best deep recieving threat for one game.

They didn't excuse the stupidity. They punished it.

Gates is a grown man allegedly. It's his responsibility to get his sorry ass to work on time.

You idiot. Gates just got paid BIG TIME. How the fuck did they punish him?

They punished their fans and themselves.

whaa??? punish the fans?? In case none of you noticed, that preseason game against the Rams was a freekin sellout! The fans are clamoring for Gates, and the last I checked, they didn't raise ticket prices today.

[BSmack]

They didn't excuse the stupidity. They punished it.

Gates is a grown man allegedly. It's his responsibility to get his sorry ass to work on time.

You idiot. Gates just got paid BIG TIME. How the fuck did they punish him?

They punished their fans and themselves.

whaa??? punish the fans?? In case none of you noticed, that preseason game against the Rams was a freekin sellout! The fans are clamoring for Gates, and the last I checked, they didn't raise ticket prices today.

Get with the program Mike. In spite of the new contract, Gates will miss the opener because the Chargers front office couldn't wait to suspend him.

[BSmack]

You idiot. Gates just got paid BIG TIME. How the fuck did they punish him?

He will miss the first game and he did NOT get the "Gonzales" money that he was asking for nor did he get the three year deal he was asking for.

You have a link to the deal? Let's see it.

They punished their fans and themselves.

Actually Smith stuck to his guns, brought the player in and got him signed to a fair, long term deal that will help the team.

YOU are a total dumbfuck.

You are a dipshit if you think the Chargers front office is high fiving themselves over the way they handled things.

[BSmack]

You are a dipshit if you think the Chargers front office is high fiving themselves over the way they handled things.

It was handled firmly and successfully, so congratulations are certainly in order.

My fucking God, you're an idiot.

So you DON'T have a link to the deal.

Got it. Now STFU.

[ChargerMike]

You are a dipshit if you think the Chargers front office is high fiving themselves over the way they handled things.

It was handled firmly and successfully, so congratulations are certainly in order.

My fucking God, you're an idiot.

So you DON'T have a link to the deal.

Got it. Now STFU.

Not much in the way of details, as a matter of fact as of noon he hasn't even signed the sucker.

http://www.theredzone.org/

[ChargerMike]

Well now, DJ brings a hellava college resume' to the NFL. The fact that a rook moves right into a starting slot on that KC...uh..D (?) say's...well it say's KC's D is sucking goat choads.

You mean like when Ben Leber (as a rook) moved into a starting slot on the Blots' D? :roll:

I'd say DJ gets sucked into the play-action as Gates streaks away into the secondary for a score..yeah, that's the ticket..uh yeah!

LMAO.....Mike, Mike, Mike. You're SO misinformed here. DJ is far and away the FASTEST linebacker in the NFL now. Dude can run step-for-step with all but the very fastest WRs in the league. Yeah, in some situations he MIGHT get sucked into a play-action pass, but he can more than make up any ground to run down your boy Gates. Late next month, you'll find out for yourselves. :wink:

LMAO.. Gifted natural athlete has the quickness to chase down opponents from behind and the power to knock ball carriers backwards …

Guess who...... did you say #50 Kawika Mitchell



bwa-freekin-ha

[Joe in PB]

Chargers | Gates Contract Details Tue, 23 Aug 2005 12:19:47 -0700

Updating earlier stories, ESPNews reports San Diego Chargers TE Antonio Gates received a six-year contract that will pay him approximately $4 million per season with an additional $9.2 million possible through incentives.


The Chargers are beginning to show that they are well managed...finally. A decade of poor drafts, bad FA signings, and front office bumbling seems to be a thing of the past. We've had 3-4 solid drafts, we've ridded ourselves of the likes of Marcellus Wiley and David Buston, and we're operating solidily under the cap (with relatively little "dead" cap space).

The San Diego Chargers? Well managed? That used to be an oxymoron. ;)

[ChargerMike]

bwa-freekin-ha

It'll be more like "boo-freekin-who" when you're looking up at us at the end of the season and our defense is ranked higher. :twisted:

I call SCOREBOARD..... hype and wishful thinking are expected from Raiduhfan, but I expect more from Chiefan Paul.

S.D. 34
K.C. 31

S.D. 24
K.C. 17






S.D. 42
Oak 17

S.D. 23
Oak 17

[Variable]

You are a dipshit if you think the Chargers front office is high fiving themselves over the way they handled things.

Are you kidding? Gates misses one game against mediocre Dallas. Comparatively, they've sent a clear message to the entire team that they won't be bullied, no matter the caliber of the player, but will still negotiate in good faith. They've showed that they will stand strong, but will still negotiate in good faith. How do they lose on that?

[Joe in PB]

I call that "LAST SEASON", Mike- the Blots cannot and WILL NOT overcome that completely BRUTAL schedule they got for winning the AFC West. Face it, you had your once-in-a-decade winning team- time for the Blots to assume their comfy position as the BITCH of the division.

This coming from a guy whose team is on it's last legs. Take a good look at the Bolts roster Paul, I think you'll find the Chargers core group is still young and peaking. Unlike your squad with a very good but aging offense, and a patch work defense you HOPE will come together. The 2nd half of the season will indicate whether the Chefs can stay healthy down the stretch, & that one question will make or break the team.

As for schedules the only difference in teams played is the Chargers play Pittsburgh while KC plays Cinncinatti on the road Jan 1st. Not exactly a cake walk for either team. San Diego also has to play at Indy while KC has to play at Houston. Advantage KC, but realistically probably not a cake walk for KC either considering Houston rolled the Griefs at Narrowhead last season. So in other words both teams have very similar schedules as do all the teams in the AFC West.

The bottom line is this is the begining of the end in KC, while the Chargers will be true AFC West contenders for the next 2-3 years.....and last year was just the fuckin' begining. :wink:

[orcinus]

How exactly is cutting off a foot to spite your face a tough negotiating stance worthy of admiration?

Of all the things the Bolts have done wrong, here was an easy opportunity to take a big step forward and do the right thing. With the only reported issue being the length of the contract, it makes no sense to draw this type of line in the sand. It's akin to killing a fly with a grenade.

Sure, you'll get the message across, but you might not be able to walk again.

In addition, for those saying the Chargers will be fine against Dallas without Gates, you're making a gross miscalculation. Removing your primary weapon from the equation has a domino effect on both teams. Gates' success last season had a direct correlation to that of Brees.

Not to get into a trev fishing trip here, as I don't mean to belittle your QB (this time, at least), but I don't think Brees is nearly the same quarterback without the beast at TE. To illustrate the security blanket point, we need only to look at Brees' stats from last season.

Completions - 262
This puts Brees 18th on the QB list, and 30% of those completions went to Gates. One out of every three passes went to the TE.

Yards - 3159
Again, Brees is middle-of-the-road at 15th here and, again, Gates accounts for 30% of that yardage.

TDs - 27
Here's where things really get testy. Brees ties for seventh among QBs last year, with Gates accounting for 50% of that figure.

In short, you're team has volunteered to remove 30% of it's offense and some 50% of it's scoring efficiency through the air, and all is good? Sure, you can't predict future results from past performance, but it does at least provide a blueprint here. I don't imagine the Chargers aren't going to feature their primary weapon in the passing game ... do you?

Dallas may not be ready for the Lombardi Trophy just yet, but I'd imagine Parcells knows how to game plan against a handicapped offense. If the Chargers drop this game and it ends up being the game that prevents them from moving onward, I wonder how willing you'll be to give negotiating props then.

Bottom line is there were other ways to get this deal done besides handcuffing the offense, especially considering length of the contract was the only remaining impasse.

[Joe in PB]

Dana I agree with you assessment that the Charger offense isn’t the same without Gates. Certainly he is the only Bolts receiver that teams specifically scheme against. I imagine Parcells will stack the box with eight and make Brees and the other receivers beat em’. My view on Brees is he’s an average NFL QB, but he is poised in the pocket, and San Diego’s WR’s actually can make a few plays now. Not sure I’d phrase one game without Gates as cutting one’s foot off, more like stubbing ones toe.

What I don’t agree with is the thinking the Chargers could have done the same thing without the deadline. My feeling is if AJ did not make a deadline, Gates would still be holding out today waiting for Tony G money. Most likely all this would not have been resolved until the week before the opener. What the deadline provided was an acceleration of contract bargaining 3 weeks sooner. From what I understand there was a compromise by both parties, the Chargers got their long term deal, and Gates got more guaranteed money. All Gates had to do was show up at camp by noon on the 20th, he has no one but himself to blame for the suspension.

[BSmack]

Dana I agree with you assessment that the Charger offense isn’t the same without Gates. Certainly he is the only Bolts receiver that teams specifically scheme against. I imagine Parcells will stack the box with eight and make Brees and the other receivers beat em’. My view on Brees is he’s an average NFL QB, but he is poised in the pocket, and San Diego’s WR’s actually can make a few plays now. Not sure I’d phrase one game without Gates as cutting one’s foot off, more like stubbing ones toe.

What I don’t agree with is the thinking the Chargers could have done the same thing without the deadline. My feeling is if AJ did not make a deadline, Gates would still be holding out today waiting for Tony G money. Most likely all this would not have been resolved until the week before the opener. What the deadline provided was an acceleration of contract bargaining 3 weeks sooner. From what I understand there was a compromise by both parties, the Chargers got their long term deal, and Gates got more guaranteed money. All Gates had to do was show up at camp by noon on the 20th, he has no one but himself to blame for the suspension.

Joe, the problem was not the hard stance or the suspension itself. The mistake the Bolts made was using the roster exmpt rule to impose the suspension. Are you seriously telling me that the Chargers would have missed the #1 practice squad guy had it come to Gates holding out that long?

[orcinus]

Agreed, Joe. The first game is definitely going to be interesting, and I think it will also give a better read on Brees going forward (as well as Dallas' ability to stop the run). It's hard to think that a TE can change the face of a single game, but when you look at the number of times Gates was targeted last year, especially early on, it's a good indicator that this might be one of those very games.

As for your other point, the stalling poing wasn't the money prior to the deadline. While he initially wanted the mega-contract, the terms had been agreed upon up to the length of the deal.

True, they threw down the gauntlet in hopes of accelerating closure; however, they gaffed on assuming Gates would actually make it in on time. While you'd call that on Gates (and be right), in the end, who pays the price if that first game turns out to be not only a loss, but "the" loss?

[trev]

Well, sure Orc, no QB is the same without a decent TE. My goodness...yeah, you got a rise out of me. As did Joe by saying our Pro bowler was an average QB.

I wish I had the inclination to hash this all out with ya'll.

You kids have fun.

[Joe in PB]

I'm not sure about all the rules Bri but the roster exemption might have been used because it was a 3 game suspension. Since Gates needed to play six games this season to qualify for RFA next year, it meant he had to sign at the latest, with 9 games left in the season.

[orcinus]

Trev, this isn't a shot a Brees ... this time.

Think of the airplane that's flying along with its two engines. You've been told by the pilot and attendants the plane will still fly with only one engine, but how willing is anyone going to be to test that theory at altitude?

As much as he was a weapon in your offense, Gates was also Brees' security blanket last year and accounted for a huge chunk of your stats. Take him out of the picture, and although Charger fan says Brees will still be able to fly ... there's still that uneasy doubt that investigators will be combing through the wreckage come Monday morning.

With only one season of mistake-limited football under his belt, the onus is still on Brees not to fail. Like I stated earlier, if nothing else, removing Gates from the picture gives everyone a good litmus test on how far he's truly come.