Gates agrees to 5-year extension

Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates has agreed to a $36.175 million, five-year contract extension with the San Diego Chargers, making him the NFL's highest-paid tight end.

The deal, which runs through the 2015 season, is worth $7.235 million per season, with $20.4 million in guarantees, a source told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen.

"Antonio is a special player and person. He is everything we are looking for in a Chargers player," general Manager A.J. Smith said in a statement released by the team. "His talent and contributions to our team speak for themselves. His work ethic and desire to be the best are unmatched. 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."
With three other star players unhappy about their contracts, talks with Gates apparently intensified this week. Gates and other veterans are due to report to training camp on Thursday, with the first full-squad practice on Friday.

"I've been blessed my whole career to be with one team." Gates said in a statement released by the team. "It's always good to get [the contract] out of the way. The goal is to win a championship. We all are human and it becomes a distraction even though you might not want it to be. It's always great to be able to go ahead and do what you need to do and get it out of the way."

It wasn't clear if getting Gates' deal done would lead to new deals for restricted free agents Marcus McNeill, Vincent Jackson and Shawne Merriman.

McNeill, the left tackle who protects quarterback Philip Rivers' blind side, and Jackson, a Pro Bowl wide receiver with two straight 1,000-yard seasons, are unhappy that they haven't been given long-term deals and are expected to hold out through training camp and the season's first 10 games. They are expected to return for the final six games to accrue another season toward unrestricted free agency.

Jackson and McNeill were tendered one-year deals at just more than $3 million each. When they didn't sign the offers by June 15, the Chargers were entitled to offer them their same salaries as 2009, resulting in a loss of about $2.5 million each.

Merriman hasn't signed his tender for $3.269 million, but the outside linebacker was due a 10 percent raise anyway, which would put his 2010 pay at approximately the tender amount. Still, he hasn't said when he'll report.

These negotiations between Gates and the Chargers went much more smoothly than in 2005.

Gates held out during training camp that year, leading general manager A.J. Smith to take the extreme measure of placing him on the roster exempt list in an attempt to break the impasse, automatically triggering a three-game suspension. Gates missed the final two exhibition games and the season opener, which the Chargers lost.

Gates dumped the agent who represented him then and hired Tom Condon.

Since his rookie season, Gates leads tight ends in touchdown catches with 59. He ranks second in yards, 6,223, and third in catches, 479. Gates has led the Chargers in catches each of the last six seasons. In 2009, he topped the Bolts with 79 catches and a career-best 1,157 yards, with eight touchdowns.

The six-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team (2000-09).

This is the second big contract for a Chargers player in less than a year. Rivers was given a contract extension worth nearly $93 million toward the end of last year's training camp.

The Raiders have all nine selections in their 2010 NFL Draft class under contract, as LB Rolando McClain has signed.

The Oakland Raiders have signed linebacker Rolando McClain, a member of the 2010 Raiders Draft class.

The 6-3, 255-pound McClain was selected by the Silver and Black in the first round with the eighth overall pick out of Alabama, where he earned the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker and helped the Crimson Tide win the BCS National Championship.

McClain was a unanimous first team All-American selection and anchored a defense that ranked fourth nationally in total defense last year. McClain started 37 of 41 games in three collegiate seasons, totaling 275 tackles, eight sacks, five interceptions and 31.5 tackles for a loss during his career at Alabama.

The transaction completes the signings of Oakland’s nine-player draft class prior to the start of Training Camp practices this week in Napa, Calif.

NFL Alumni open HQ in NJ with focus on retirees

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- The NFL's newly reorganized Players Alumni Association officially opened its new headquarters Wednesday night with a focus on the needs of its retired players and their health.

With the league's administrators, owners, and some current and retired players in attendance, commissioner Roger Goodell said he realizes the importance of having an organization -- a totally separate entity from the NFL -- that serves former players.

"The old alumni association was doing good work, but it really wasn't focused on the advocacy of helping retired players in other ways," Goodell said. "We're here to try to help support the intentions of this association."

In previous years, the NFL Players Alumni Association concentrated on charity-related events and finding employment for former players. Now, it's focused on getting proper health care for retired players, especially treatment for long-standing head trauma injuries, including brain damage caused by multiple concussions.

"I don't think any of us fully understood the importance of these injuries, especially with such an emphasis on brain injuries," Goodell said. "It's up to us to try to prevent these injuries from happening and when they do occur, learning how to treat the injuries and properly recover from them."

Goodell said the league's retired players wanted an organization separate from the NFL.

"They have that now," he said. "It's a very positive step. All the attention is good and lends to the awareness. ... We all have to do a better job helping the retired players, whether it's physical, mental or financial help."

All four facets of the NFL were in attendance, including Goodell, New York Giants owner John Mara, NFL Players Association president Troy Vincent and George Martin, the former Giants defensive end and newly appointed Alumni Association executive director, as well as Newark Mayor Cory Booker.

"Having the support of the commissioner, of owners and from the players' union really gives me hope," said Martin, who spent 14 years in the NFL -- all with the Giants. "We have a mission ahead of us, providing services that were never available before. The impact of concussions is high on our list and it represents the unknown. We don't know how deep and wide the damage is. We will pay strict and close attention to that issue above anything else."

Mara said this was certainly a step in the right direction.

"The retired players were looking for unified leadership and there's no more respected or qualified person than George Martin," he said. "I know he wants to do the right thing. While what the alumni players did in the past was good in terms of their charity work, they needed to focus on the real issues that retired players had. The owners all have a priority to listen to what the players were saying. It's been a priority for most of us.

"I think the relations between the owners and retired players will improve in the near future."

Former Giants offensive tackle Roman Oben, who retired only two years ago, recognizes the importance of having a reliable alumni organization.

"We need to have sustainable leadership," Oben said. "It doesn't matter if you retired two years ago or 20 years ago. We have a lot of guys who played eight, nine years in the league and you can't just let them fall by the wayside. When you talk about helping retired players, it has to be a constant."

Former Jets All-Pro tight end Rich Caster is hopeful, but still a little skeptical.

"I think it's a very big and positive step, but we still have a long ways to go," Caster said. "The kind of high-level NFL support and representation here says a lot. If there's going to be something to legitimately help the old-time players from a health standpoint, then it's all good. There are a lot of issues that need to be addressed. There are a lot of players who have applied for disability and haven't received it. They need to take a longer look how the standards have been set up.

"A lot of guys are still hurting. It's not an easy thing."