Thread: Forte Gets a Slap Down by Chicago Sportswriter............

The first thing Forte needs to do is fire his idiot agent then sign his tender and if he's not happy ....... ask for a trade. Let some other team mortgage their future to sign him and he will be much happier in .............. Miami or Cleveland maybe where he will NEVER see the playoffs again. NEVER !!

Here's an example of a structure with $18 mil guaranteed and $31 mil over 4 years.

$31 mil/4 years with a $10 mil SB

2012 Salary = $3.0 mil SB Charge = $2.5 mil Cap Cost = $5.5 mil
2013 Salary = $5.0 mil SB Charge = $2.5 mil Cap Cost = $7.5 mil
2014 Salary = $6.0 mil SB Charge = $2.5 mil Cap Cost = $8.5 mil
2015 Salary = $7.0 mil SB Charge = $2.5 mil Cap Cost = $9.5 mil

Total Salary = $21 mil Total SB = $10 mil Total Cost = $31 mil

Total Guaranteed: $18 mil ($10 SB + 2012-2013 Salary @ $ 8 mil)

This is an over simplified structure but it illustrates the point. Here's a deal that fits in between what Lynch and Foster received. Forte puts $13 mil in his pocket in 2012 and another $5 mil guaranteed in 2013 so $18 mil total in guarantees.

The Bears benefit by the having only $13 mil of the $18 charged against the cap for these years as opposed to the $18 mil actually paid out or the $17 mil they would pay out if they franchised him both years. That $4 mil can easily pay for another player upgrade.

By 2014 when Forte's cap cost has risen to $8.5 mil there is only $5 mil of unamortized bonus remaining. If Forte's productivity has declined after two years or he incurs a career ending injury the Bears can release him in 2014 and actually save $3.5 mil of cap space.

Again, this is oversimplified because there would ordinarily be less salary and more incentive or workout bonuses in years 3 and 4 but the cap accounting works out the same if those bonuses are earned and they are paid out.

If the Bears are offering something far less than this or Forte is expecting something far more than this then both need to get a bit more realistic because this would represent a good example of a 4 year market level deal. JMO.

Apparantly, according to the tribune today (3/24/12)

Forte Wanted a 5 year 40mil extension with 20 million guaranteed

Its towards the back end of the article about Barber retiring

That's a bad choice since it's a 5yr deal, that pretty much leaves Forte retiring a Bear w/out worrying about a 3rd contract/extension.

Also that makes since since the Bears offer was 13-14 mil. Difference/meeting point would then be 17 mil, which is where most feel he should get minimum. 18 is the standard, 20 being on the high.

Originally Posted by Aenir

Apparantly, according to the tribune today (3/24/12)

Forte Wanted a 5 year 40mil extension with 20 million guaranteed

Its towards the back end of the article about Barber retiring

Got it Aenir. Good find and although Forte and his side isn't confirming this it makes some sense. Here it is;

Forte felt disrespected after the Bears gave Bush a four-year $14 million contract that included $7 million guaranteed. Forte originally wanted a five-year, $40 million extension with $20 million guaranteed but now faces a one-year salary worth $7.7 million after being slapped with the franchise tag.

There's just one problem here that tells me why the Bears are probably balking at this and I think if that's the case their reason or reasons are good ones. He's asking for a deal competitive with what Arian Foster got so let's compare the two because they are similar all around backs who are a big part of their teams offense.

1) Matt Forte is one year older than Arian Foster and has played one more year which is a significant percentage of a RB average life span.

2) Matt Forte has 355 more carries and 96 more receptions or a total of 451 more touches than Arian Foster which is equivalent to about 1 1/2 more years play even for a highly used back like Forte and more like two years for a back like Michael Bush.

3) Arian Foster has much better stats in his career than Matt Forte. He's averaged 4.7 yds per carry vs 4.2 for Forte, 10.3 yds per catch vs 8.9 for Forte and scored 33 TDs in 3 seasons vs Forte's 29 in 4 seasons and Forte's scoring production has been declining since his rookie year. They're about equal in fumbles lost. Foster 6 in three years vs Forte's 8 in 4 years.

I love Matt Forte as a Bear and I hope they get this worked out soon but based on this a 4 year deal closer to what Lynch got is far more realistic than Fosters deal. On top of that Forte has averaged more than double what Foster averages per year since they began their NFL careers because Foster came in as an rookie UDFA. If one of the two has been more underpaid than the other it's Foster.

I wouldn't have been pleased with the lowball offer Angelo pushed throughout last fall either but expecting a 5 year deal for over $40 mil with 50% guaranteed is overplaying his hand. The deal I sketched out or something in that neighborhood is far more realistic based on these facts.

If anything is stretched maybe it might be some incentive dollars tacked on in years 3 and 4 but I don't know that I would stretch this deal to 5 years unless it was for around $36 mil with $18 mil guaranteed. But I also think a deal for less than $30 mil over 4 years with less than $17 mil guaranteed is too low.

Depending on what the Bears are offering the sides shouldn't be that far apart and since it would appear that there is no way to get in trade what Forte is worth I gotta think the sides will come to an agreement sooner or later. Forte just has to realize that a $40 mil/ 5 yr deal is beyond what he can probably expect. Frankly I don't think another team would give him that much either. Not with over 1200 touches in 4 years.