As a professional Pate has had a rocky career. He began the spring of 2002 with several jumps over . He was second at the USATF Outdoor Championships and finished the year ranked 2nd in the world. In 2003 Pate continued his success by winning the USATF Indoor Championship in the long jump. However, at a meet in Oregon in the spring Pate injured his knee, tearing his ACL, MCL as well as other ligaments, ending his season and putting his career in jeopardy. Pate tried to return to form in 2004 but only managed to jump that year in limited action. In 2005 Pate showed the form he had before the injury by winning the USATF Outdoor Championship in the long jump over 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Dwight Phillips with a leap of . In 2006, Pate finished 3rd at the USATF Outdoor Championships with a jump of (7.96m/26-1.5) and had a season best jump at the Nike Prefontaine Classic (8.27m/27-1.75). Pate finished the year ranked 7th in the world (#2 in the U.S.) by T&amp;FN. In 2007, Pate finished 2nd at the USATF Outdoor Championships (8.24m/27-0.5) and qualified for the World Outdoor Championships in Osaka, Japan where he placed 10th (7.94m/26-0.75). Pate finished the 2007 season ranked #3 in the U.S. by T&amp;FN. In 2008, Pate finished 3rd at the &lt;a href="2008%20United%20States%20Olympic%20Trials%20%28track%20and%20field%29"&gt;USATF Outdoor Championships/Olympic Trials&lt;/a&gt; with a jump of (8.22/26-11.75) which qualified him for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.