Antonio Gates sat in an Arizona locker room last August, talking with teammates before an exhibition game against the Cardinals, when over walked wide receiver Keenan Allen.

He pointed a cell phone at Gates.

Gates, confused but smiling, asked the 23-year-old if he was recording a video. Allen explained he was streaming a live broadcast to hundreds of people on the Internet with a mobile app called Periscope.

Gates’ expression changed. He looked the way a 90-year-old man might when, in the middle of the “Price is Right,” his grandson on summer break shows him the pause-live-television feature for the first time.


These kids.

The Chargers tight end will turn 36 on Saturday. Some aspects of aging are unavoidable in the NFL, ones any athlete who plays long enough in his or her sport is bound to experience. There are other facets that an older athlete must decide whether to embrace. Gates has allowed younger teammates, Allen in particular, to show him their ways.

The aforementioned Periscope episode is a sore subject.

Chargers coach Mike McCoy naturally was not thrilled to learn a player was broadcasting his locker room and on-field warm-ups live, so he cracked down on that one the way a sledgehammer might an egg.


But it’s exchanges like those with Allen that Gates appreciates.

“Obviously, guys learn from me because I’ve been around, but I’ve learned a lot from the younger generation in terms of little simple things,” Gates said Wednesday. “You’re never too old to learn. When I go places, people look at me like, ‘Dang, you’re 35 years old.’ I’m like, ‘Well, the guys I’m around are 22, 23, 24, so they make me feel young.’ I think that’s helped me the past couple of years.”

At now 36, Gates is the oldest player in the Chargers’ locker room.

It is not especially close.


Nine others are across the 30 mark. Quarterbacks Philip Rivers, 34, and Kellen Clemens, 33, are the only ones older than 31. Gates has been with the Chargers since 2003 when he signed as an undrafted rookie. This year marks his 14th season. Aside from Rivers, who is entering year No. 13, no other current Charger has played more than six seasons with the club.

A lot of change has come in that span, inside and outside the locker room.

Gates has seen himself change with it, his music taste influenced by artists he hears at Chargers Park. He also is mindful of the latest fashion trends his teammates exhibit.

Allen makes sure of it.


“I just try to keep him up with what’s hot right now,” said Allen, who practiced in yellow tights this week during minicamp. “He still likes wearing those baggy pants and fitted hats. I’m like, ‘OK, Gates. You’ve got to calm down. Take a breath, and let’s watch me now. You watch me off the field, and I’ll watch you on the field.’”

“He helps me out a ton,” Gates said. “He’s like my little brother. He puts me with style. I’m still myself. I’ve still got to be, but I kind of get the validation from the younger generation. Like, ‘How’s this? What do ya’ll think about this?’ It’s fun.”

Inevitably, age comes at a price in the NFL.

That, Gates can’t control.


Those aches and pains from Sunday games linger later and later into the week. Those legs don’t move like they used to, and so the mind must achieve what muscles no longer can. Each year, a new group of young players arrive in April. They’re watching him, learning from him, hoping one day to replace him.

Gates may be vocal at times, but he largely leads by example. Rookie second-round pick Hunter Henry tracked his reps and kept close by during minicamp.

This birthday, Gates said, probably will pass quietly. He’ll spend time with family. He’ll speak on the phone with friends. Most of the NFL players he knows are retired from the game, some of them working as television analysts.

Gates has at least one more season, maybe two, before he transitions away from the game. He still has goals he wants to achieve, such as winning a Super Bowl and catching eight more touchdowns to break Tony Gonzalez’s all-time career tight-end record of 111.


“Age is just a number,” Gates said. “I feel young.”