BREAKING: Super Bowl Champion Leaves NFL, Switches to Baseball

Posted on by Jack Marks

Golden Tate is back, but this time he’s heading to the baseball diamond rather than an NFL football field. Golden Tate had a successful football career, starting for Notre Dame and then with the Seattle Seahawks, where he was a Pro Bowl wide receiver and Super Bowl champion.

Tate will be switching out his wide receiver gloves for an outfielder’s glove. Now, the 33-year-old is attempting to make the arduous transition back to baseball, which he refers to as his “first love.”

NFL
Credits: Titanswire

Former NFL champion Golden Tate signs with Port Angeles Lefties

Tate inked a contract with the Port Angeles Lefties of the independent West Coast League, a summer league for college prospects, for the remainder of the 2022 season on Tuesday. Tate was set to start in center field for the Lefties against the Bend Elks on Tuesday night. Tate, who spent two years at Notre Dame playing baseball, hasn’t been in the NFL since 2020.

Golden Tate was picked twice in the Major League Baseball amateur draft: in the 42nd round by Arizona in 2007 and the 50th round by San Francisco in 2010. Tate batted.329 in 55 games during his second season at Notre Dame.

“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,” Tate said in a statement. “I look forward to having a lot of fun and exploring baseball more.”

Tate was an All-American at Notre Dame and was drafted by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Following helping the Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVIII against the Broncos, he went on to have three seasons with the Detroit Lions, averaging over 90 catches and 1,000 receiving yards and made the Pro Bowl after the 2014 season. Tate had 695 receptions for 8,278 yards and 46 touchdowns in 12 NFL seasons.