It’s been nearly 18 months since Golden Tate set foot on an NFL gridiron, but the longtime wide receiver has now found a new outlet for his athletic tools: baseball.
Tate, who turns 34 in August, has signed with the Port Angeles Lefties of the West Coast League, the league announced on Tuesday. The move does not quite come out of left field, as Tate was a member of Notre Dame’s baseball team during his college years and was actually selected twice in the MLB draft in 2007 and ’10.
“I am extremely thankful to the West Coast League and the Port Angeles Lefties for allowing me to join their league,” Tate said in a statement. “As some might know, I was drafted twice in baseball. As a child, my first love was baseball, so I’m excited about the opportunity to compete against some of the best young players in the league. I look forward to having a lot of fun and exploring baseball more.”
As a freshman in 2008, Tate appeared in 18 games for the Irish, batting .262 with three doubles, four RBI and three stolen bases. He was taken in the 42nd round out of high school by the Diamondbacks in ’07, then in the 50th round in ’10 by the Giants.
Tate moved away from baseball after emerging as a star wideout for Notre Dame’s football team. He totaled 151 receptions for 2,576 yards and 25 touchdowns across the ’08 and ’09 seasons, winning the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wide receiver as a junior.
Tate’s last season in the NFL was in 2020, when he appeared in 12 games for the Giants. He made 35 catches for 388 yards and two scores.
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Former NFL wide receiver Golden Tate is taking his talents from the gridiron to the baseball field, as he signed with the Port Angeles Lefties of the West Coast League. He is expected to make his debut in the WCL as the starting center fielder for the Lefties in a home game against the Bend Elks. The 33-year-old last signed with the Tennessee Titans in 2021, but was released shortly after. Following the end of his football career, he is returning to what he calls his "first love." "I am extremely thankful to the West Coast League and the Port Angeles Lefties for allowing me to join their league," Tate said in a statement. "As some might know, I was drafted twice in baseball. As a child, my first love was baseball, so I'm excited about the opportunity to compete against some of the best young players in the league. I look forward to having a lot of fun and exploring baseball more." The Arizona Diamondbacks drafted Tate in the 42nd round of the 2007 amateur draft, but he opted to attend Notre Dame, playing football and baseball. After a successful career in South Bend, Tate was drafted again in 2010, this time in the 50th round by the San Francisco Giants. He chose football instead, beginning his NFL career as a second-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks. In 11 seasons, he racked up 695 catches for 8,278 yards and 46 touchdowns. Now he's ready to see if he can hold his own in another sport. "Considering his ties to the Pacific Northwest and his tremendous NFL career, we know our fans will love watching him," WCL commissioner Rob Neyer said in a statement. "And his teammates will certainly benefit from seeing how hard a world-class athlete works toward the same thing they're all working toward: a professional baseball career." Lefties owner Matt Acker spoke to Tate's "competitiveness, work ethic, humility, and desire," adding that this is a unique experience for all involved.
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Tate could be ready to move on from football after he signed a contract Tuesday with a collegiate summer baseball club, the West Coast League's Port Angeles Lefties.
In his statement, Tate didn't explicitly say that he has retired from the NFL, but he noted that he will "look forward to having a lot of fun and exploring baseball more." The 33-year-old Tate, who played baseball for two seasons at Notre Dame while simultaneously starring at receiver for the Fighting Irish, was also drafted on two occasions by MLB clubs but chose not to sign. Once the summer baseball league winds down, Tate will presumably see what his future holds in the sport, but a return to the NFL is seemingly growing dimmer. He hasn't appeared in an NFL game since 2020, though he was a member of the Titans' practice squad last season for a little over a month.
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| HT/WT: 5-11, 191 lbs |
| Birthplace: Nashville, TN |
| Age: 33 |
| School: Notre Dame |
| Experience: 12 |