Antonio Gates was a hooper. Long before donning his gold jacket on Saturday in Canton, Gates was a stud college basketball player at Kent State University. He never played a single down of college football. And that means he made history. He's the first player into the Pro Football Hall of Fame who never played college football.

On August 2 in Canton, Ohio, the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrines four new members, placing them among the ranks of the greatest to ever play in the National Football League: Eric Allen, Jared Allen,

The Pro Football Hall of Fame welcomed four members to its ranks, with Eric Allen, Jared Allen, Antonio Gates and Sterling Sharpe joining the sport's elite in Canton on Saturday.

The report noted that within the ESPN family of programming, NFL Network could wind up looking akin to SEC Network, which provides constant programming about the league while ESPN’s flagship channel also broadcasts SEC games and SEC-related shows.

When all is said in done, NYT is reporting that ESPN will get NFL Network, RedZone, seven additional regular season game broadcasts (a fairly sizable number when you consider how short the NFL season is relative to other sports), the NFL's fantasy football business, special feature integration (like bettering) and possibly other assets.

The NFL and ESPN are expected to announce an agreement that would give the the league an equity stake in the sports network.