Only a fraction of amateur athletes will ever have the feeling of being drafted into a major professional league. Golden Tate has experienced that feeling three times.
As a senior Pope John Paul II High School in Hendersonville, Tenn., he was 42nd-round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2007 MLB Draft but did not sign. In 2010, after playing two seasons with the Notre Dame baseball team (2008-09) but skipping the 2010 season, he was the San Francisco Giants' 50th-round pick.
Once again he did not sign, and for good reason. Six weeks earlier, the Seattle Seahawks selected him in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft and he would soon be presented with a contract worth more than $3 million.
In addition to Tate, here are nine other current NFL players who were also selected in the MLB Draft.
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Jameis Winston
Five years ago, Winston was both a can't miss football recruit and legitimate MLB prospect.
Four months after committing to Florida State football, he was chosen by the Texas Rangers in the 15th round of the 2012 MLB Draft. He played baseball for the Seminoles, serving as their closer in 2014, before skipping the 2015 season in preparation for the 2015 NFL Draft.
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Tom Brady
Before Tom Brady was the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, he passed on an MLB career.
One of the best high school catching prospects in the nation, Brady starred at Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, Calif., and was an 18th-round pick of the Montreal Expos in the 1995 MLB Draft.
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Russell Wilson
Three-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson was taken twice in the MLB Draft and once in the Rule 5 draft.
In 2007 as a middle infielder from Richmond, Va., he was the Baltimore Orioles' 41st-round pick. After three seasons at North Carolina State, the Colorado Rockies took him in the fourth round. And in 2014, the Texas Rangers made Wilson a Rule 5 pick.
He did play two seasons of minor league baseball (2010-11) in the Rockies' organization before transferring to Wisconsin and becoming a third-round pick of the Seahawks in 2012.
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Colin Kaepernick
A three-sport star at John H. Pitman High School in Turlock, Calif., Kaepernick received scholarship offers for baseball and football. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 43rd-round of the 2009 MLB Draft, two years after graduating from high school, the last time he played baseball.
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Eric Decker
Eric Decker excelled in both baseball and football for Minnesota.
Not only did he have 224 catches for 3,119 yards and 24 touchdowns in four seasons, he was twice selected in the MLB Draft. The Brewers took him in the 39th round in 2008 and the Minnesota Twins drafted him a year later in the 27th round.
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Matt Cassel
Matt Cassel was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2005 despite attempting 33 passes in four seasons at USC.
He was also selected in the 36th round of 2004 MLB Draft after just one season with the Trojans' baseball team — Cassel appeared in eight games as a pitcher.
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Kyle Long
Had Kyle Long not been firmly committed to playing football at Florida State, the big 6-foot-6 righthander from Charlottesville, Va., would have been selected far earlier than the 23rd round of the 2008 MLB Draft.
Long passed on the White Sox's offer and opted for college football.
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Senquez Golson
An elite athlete at Pascagoula High School in Mississippi, Senquez Golson starred in baseball, football and track and field. As a senior, he was a Rawlings All-American baseball player, 100-meter state champion and three-star cornerback recruit.
Golson was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the eighth round of the 2011 MLB Draft but did not sign. He played baseball and football at Ole Miss and was the Steelers' second-round pick in 2015.
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Brandon Weeden
Fifteen years ago, Brandon Weeden was one of the best prep baseball prospects in America. He was the New York Yankees' second-round pick in the 2002 draft and spent four seasons in the minor leagues with the Yankees, Dodgers and Royals.
In 2007, after failing to climb above A-ball, Weeden enrolled at Oklahoma State and restarted his football career. Four years later, at 28 years old, he was the oldest player ever selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
