In honor of his achievement, the Chargers celebrated by adopting a goat in Gates's honor. The goat, a nod to the team considering Gates the "greatest of all time" tight end, is named Gatesy after him. Gatesy resides at the San Diego Animal Sanctuary and Farm.

Gates consistently provided key catches, especially on third downs, and served as a safety value for Chargers quarterbacks when plays went off script.

The four-person class is the first since 2005 with fewer than six inductees. Adam Vinatieri also missed out in his first chance.