CBS Sports: "Forte is getting screwed."

Link to the entire article

This is one heck of an article. Follow the link to read it in its entirety.

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If you want to understand why NFL players never, ever trust management or why they hold out, look at the Forte case. If you really want to know why the union constantly fights management, look at Forte. If you want to understand why NFL players not receiving guaranteed contracts is practically criminal, again, Forte.

You are Matt Forte. You are, for the moment, confused. You are also angry. It's understandable. Your team is selling you out.

The Bears asked you to touch the ball some 1,200 times because you were versatile and good and didn't complain about the sometimes crappy offensive line that opened holes as thick as a sliver of cheese.

The Bears run Forte into the ground and then leak to the media they're concerned about giving Forte a long-term deal because of concerns over his knee. What the Bears are doing is like a guy running up his credit card bill buying lap dances and Gummi Bears and then blaming Visa.

The Bears sucked the life out of Forte and that's what they should have done. Don't feel sorry for him but then the Bears, immersed in a contract squabble, repaid Forte's loyalty with a nice piece of nastiness.

The team recently leaked it was concerned Forte's knees might not hold up for the long term. It's one thing to be concerned about handing Forte a multi-year deal instead of the one-year tender but it's another to undercut your star player who has been nothing but loyal.
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"Hi! I'm Barack Obama, and I approve this message!"

Not paying the guy is one thing. I have no problem with that. It's business. But if they crap on him like this, it's just not necessary. You wonder if Forte would be ticked enough to sit out until the last few games, and then sign so he gets credit for the season, and then move on. The Bears wouldn't franchise him again after something like that. Forte would get a contract from another team and move on. It would cost him a ton of money to do this. He'd have to have a big hate for the Bears to go this route.

Another option would be to pull a "Peyton Hillis" and have sore throats and mystery ailments & stuff like that. Pocket all the franchise money, crap on the Bears season - and then move on to another team next season like Hillis did. You'd hurt your value that way, but if the Bears crap on you enough, it gets to be a pride issue too. He'll still make millions with another team. And he'd still pocket the $7 mil from the Bears as he sits home and watches TV resting those pins the Bears are worried about.

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Originally Posted by JustAnotherBearsFan99

Not paying the guy is one thing. I have no problem with that. It's business. But if they crap on him like this, it's just not necessary. You wonder if Forte would be ticked enough to sit out until the last few games, and then sign so he gets credit for the season, and then move on. The Bears wouldn't franchise him again after something like that. Forte would get a contract from another team and move on.

Another option would be to pull a "Peyton Hillis" and have sore throats and stuff like that. Pocket all the franchise money, and then move on to another team next season. You'd hurt your value that way, but if the Bears crap on you enough, it gets to be a pride issue too. He's still make millions with another team. And he'd still pocket the $7 mil from the Bears as he sits home and watches TV resting those pins the Bears are worried about.

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I think there's more to it than what you're reading in that editorial, JustAnother. That is essentially one person's opinion from a very slanted perspective, in which "The Man" has always got his thumb down on the "Lowlies." What's probably going on is that Forte wants to be paid Top 5 money, while the Bears think is on the outer periphery of that select group of running backs in terms of ability and what he brings to the team. If this is the case, then naturally you're going to see a lot of bickering between the two sides...only in reality, we haven't really seen that much, at least not lately. Matt Forte has come out one time publicly in a Tweet he made about a month ago on Twitter after the Michael Bush signing went down. Other than that, it's actually been remarkably calm.

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Originally Posted by Dagan81

I think there's more to it than what you're reading in that editorial, JustAnother. That is essentially one person's opinion from a very slanted perspective, in which "The Man" has always got his thumb down on the "Lowlies." What's probably going on is that Forte wants to be paid Top 5 money, while the Bears think is on the outer periphery of that select group of running backs in terms of ability and what he brings to the team. If this is the case, then naturally you're going to see a lot of bickering between the two sides...only in reality, we haven't really seen that much, at least not lately. Matt Forte has come out one time publicly in a Tweet he made about a month ago on Twitter after the Michael Bush signing went down. Other than that, it's actually been remarkably calm.

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Forte has shown a lot of class throughout this process. I'm not saying the Bears should pay Forte what he's asking. But the process here is hard for running backs in particular. If you don't score a long-term contract after your rookie contract, you're pretty much limited due to the wear and tear on a RB body. You're considered damaged goods. High mileage.

It's business. I get that.

I don't know about getting screwed, but the FT hurts RB's more then any other position on the field b/c of the lifespan of a RB. They get their rookie deal, maybe an extension and then 1 more contract.

But this is why you don't pull the "legally/morally" obligated card when it comes to NFL contracts, the owners aren't obligated to hold that contract outside the guaranteed money. There is no reason the players should be either.

Charma will be a bitch w/the next good rb the Bears draft though, this issue will be on their minds, as well as their agents. The next back will be fighting 3-4 years into his deal to get a new deal b/c of this situation, and won't be as nice as Forte was about it.

+1

As much as I disliked Cedric Benson, I've been starting to wonder if the reason he chose to do what he did was because he figured out how this franchise was going to try to "negotiate" with him when the time came.

Meh... this article smacks of a shill.

I guess the moral of the story is to not let your kids play running back. Many other positions can last well into the players mid-30's. Or more. Nowadays they use you and toss you like a used condom.

It's a business. If Walter Payton were playing today, he'd get the same treatment. Probably end up playing for multiple teams over his career too.

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Originally Posted by JustAnotherBearsFan99

Forte has shown a lot of class throughout this process. I'm not saying the Bears should pay Forte what he's asking. But the process here is hard for running backs in particular. If you don't score a long-term contract after your rookie contract, you're pretty much limited due to the wear and tear on a RB body. You're considered damaged goods. High mileage.

It's business. I get that.

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Yes, Forte has shown alot of class, nobody is disputing this. He is also the lynchpin for our offense, excels in all 3 phases of his job (running, catching and blocking).

The problem is, he is not the ONLY player on this team. Bears have to weigh his contract both against the league averages for his position, as well as within the boundaries of the salary cap.

If this were 2007, then his contract wouldnt be an issue, he would be paid top RB money. But the Bears went out and did a bit of a spending spree the past few years, bringing in people like Cutler and Peppers (and some other horrible players who that werent worth the money). And yes, Cutler's deal hurt us more in the draft then in the wallet, but still...as QB, he is always going to be getting a higher contract.

Also, the RB position is notoriously difficult to predict how long and productive it will be. Too many RBs have gotten sweet deals, only to fizzle out and become non-factors in the NFL. Its a hard position, which is why their careers are typically so short compared to other positions. Bears have to take all these things into consideration, and sometimes they simply can not cater to the amounts the players want.

Does that mean they are screwing them over? No. Especially since there is no contract yet, so for all we know, the Bears might set him up nicely when all is said in done. Inaction does not equate to WRONG action, where they consciously "screw over" a player. If you want a better example of that, i would point to Greg Olsen. He got screwed over by the Bears, simply because he didnt fit into Martz's gameplan as a TE. Normally, this wouldnt be a big deal, but Martz should never have been given that kind of power, especially not before producing results (if your OC is a damn good one, then yes...they SHOULD be able to sculpt the offense however they see fit).

But to say Forte is being "screwed" simply because he has no deal yet is ridiculous.