Gates Holding Firm

Word from Antonio Gates' camp regarding the contract talks is not good. The Chargers sent the 'ultimatum letter' this past Saturday and it states that if Gates does not report by Saturday he will be put on the inactive roster for 3 games which would include the first regular season game. The latest SDUT article has Gates' agent (Andre Colona) not offering any encouraging news for Charger fans regarding the ultimatum, stating: "It doesn't change Antonio's and my plans at all," Colona said. "We are going to go forward with our game plan. That letter does not change what Antonio and I had agreed on doing up to that point."

But as the article points out, by all appearances the Chargers have the upper-hand in negotiations. Gates can become a restricted free agent in the offseason, which gives the Chargers the option to match any offer made by any other team, but Gates needs to play in at least 6 regular season games for even that to take place. Also, if you take what the Chargers are saying at face value, that they are willing to give Antonio the league minimum for a player at his position and tenure right now ($380,000) and are willing to renegotiate, but they just want Gates in camp. If Gates and his agent think that by sitting out is going to pressure the Charger management to cave, he is sorely mistaken and in the end both the Chargers and Gates will lose...which sucks primarily for us Charger/Gates fans who would like to see Gates in all 16 games this season...