Chargers make Gates the league's highest-paid tight end

SAN DIEGO - Six-time Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates has agreed to a record contract that will keep him with the San Diego Chargers through the 2015 season, the team said.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by the team, but local media reported the five-year, $36.1 million, contract would make Gates the NFL's highest-paid tight end.

“I wanted to see what they thought I was worth,” Gates told reporters. “They couldn't have put it any better with their first offer.”

Gates, who will earn $3.6 million this season in the final year of a 2005 contract, is guaranteed $20.4 million for an average of $7.2 million over the five years, the San Diego Union-Tribune said on its website (www.signonsandiego.com).

The only current Chargers player selected to the NFL's All-Decade Team for 2000-09, Gates caught 79 passes for a career-best 1,157 yards and eight touchdowns last season.

His 14.6 yards-per-catch average last season was the highest among NFL tight ends.

“He has been a major part of the success we have had over the past several years, and we are thrilled he will continue to be with us for years to come,” Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith said in a statement.

(Writing by by in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Frank Pingue; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback+thomsonreuters.com)

Reut09:57 07-29-10