Antonio Gates will have to wait at least 12 more months for his gold jacket ... TMZ Sports has learned the NFL legend did NOT make this year's Hall of Fame cut.
Our sources tell us when officials made calls Thursday morning to inform finalists and their reps if they got the green light or not to Canton ... Gates received bad news.
It's, of course, shocking ... as most pundits believed the 43-year-old was definitely deserving of the first-ballot nod.