Thread: Matt Forte looking for 'respect'

Intersting point of view.

not interesting mats, I'm just all for people getting all they can, I don't begrudge anyone for that; unless it effects the bottom line; and right now he's not hurting that. And you can debate whether he's the problem or the company is and it's probably both.
Some of my closest friends are very wealthy, and I don't begrduge them b/c I saw how hard they or their parents worked for that wealth. Some are middle class to broke, and I don't begrudge them for that or feel bad b/c a lot of that has to do w/how hard they were willing to work that put them in that position.
These players work their asses off their whole lives for this oppertunity and they will live w/the repercussions all their lives, so more poiwer to them for getting what they can.
I don't begrudge the owners for doing what they can to make money and win games either. They are the ones that put he monetary risk into this profession that allows these atheletes to get paid what they do. They put in the risk, they deserve the reward.
But to hate either or begrudge them for what they do when it hasn't effected anything is stupid. Now how this situation has come around you can look at and point out mistakes or backhandedness, but I don't hate either.
Forte screwed up not holding out last year when the FT was not an option; would it have worked who knows, but it has in the past for other players. JA was backhanded in his dihonesty in telling Forte his contract ext was the top priority when they only offerred 1 contract then told him to take it or wait until the offseason; in which they FT'd him. For the Bears to now think he would sign the offer before he has to and honestly believe them when they say they will continue the negotations is foolhearty, he believed them last year no reason to this time; again live w/the consequences of your actions. Same w/Forte, if he takes the tag and gets hurt; or holds out all year then cannot get the offer he is looking for; he'll have to live with that. But he won't, he'll play all year under the tag or w/the deal they came to agree upon.

Originally Posted by bearsinhouston

I would have to disagree with that. The Bears just recently tried to get him to sign the Ft tag again by telling him that they would engage on long term discussions but wanted him to sign the FT agreement now. It's obviously a source of sand in someones panties.

Not really houston. It's really just more of "quid pro quo" to see if he's willing to do that before they begin negotiations again. That tells me they must be willing to consider some options they didn't before.

One way or another if he doesn't agree to a new deal before July 16th he plays for the tag amount anyway or he sits out. That's not really leverage because in the end the Bears get him one way or another.

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

He wants both, and should get both. Money and respect go hand in hand in the NFL. Teams respect your ability then they pay you for that ability. Fact is he's recognized as the an elite back by the players the team knows that, otherwise they would have let him walk into FA like they did Briggs and see he is over rating himself. They have no interst in another team giving him the money they DON'T want to give him. It's not about his knees or his age; he's 26, he's in his prime, and by the time the contract ends he'll be just getting out of it. It's about the Bears doing what is in their right to do(I have no issue with that) and Forte is doing what he can to force them out of that(I have no issue with that). I do have issue w/people thinking he should just suck it up for the team when they have no interst in sucking it up for him.

Sorry Ric but I just don't buy into any of this. You can go right ahead and consider them some kind of super human being and grant them all their little foibles and entitlements but I won't. Matt Forte had gotten tons of respect from his coaches, his teammates and from other players and coaches around the league. The fact that even after missing 4 games last season he was chosen for the Pro Bowl is an indication of respect.

What he means is the he defines respect differently than the rest of us mere mortals. He defines it spelled with dollar signs, re$$$pect. That's what I have a problem with. I have absolutely no problem with him getting paid and if the Bears haven't put a decent offer on the table then it's damn well time they do but I don't want to hear any implications about a "lack of respect" or "I gotta feed my family" shit coming out of the mouth of a guy who's destined to make almost $8 mil this year and who knows how much over the next three or four years.

Most of us could live quite comfortably and just that $8 mil one time but he's destined to receive that much at least twice over with a 100% guarantee of it no matter what happens. I think most of us would love to have just our meager salaries guaranteed for the next two or three years too regardless of how we perform in our jobs. Then if he stays healthy and productive he ends up with maybe 3x to 4x that $8 mil. So it's time to stop talking about this as if playing for less will somehow leave him lacking anything financially. The only reason NFL players end up broke is because they don't take care of their money.

You tell me it was my choice to play my sport for free. Yes it was and I played at the very top level of my sport and spent over ten years developing the skills to do it just like NFL players do. It was an amateur sport then and it still is but now it's played by women in the Olympic games. But it's also by choice that pro football players blow tens of millions of dollars of their pay on poor investments and supporting a lifestyle most of us couldn't imagine in our wildest dreams.

And as for injuries? OK lets forget about mine. Let's talk about the policeman or fireman disabled or killed in the line of duty. The steel worker who falls 40 stories to his death. Fishermen who lost their lives due to the hazardous weather conditions they work in. Workers in a dozen or more other jobs who have contracted cancer and other life threatening illnesses from the hazardous materials they worked around. Pro football players aren't the only ones who suffer permanent physical damage and whose lives are foreshortened because of the work they do. They're just far better paid for the risks they take.

A rookie makes a minimum of $390k per year. A player with three years of experience makes $615K. With ten years it's $925k and these are minimums. How many year would most of us need to work just to earn what a rookie is guaranteed let alone a ten year man just for one years work with with about 3 months off in between jobs. So it gets laughable to me when a players starts saying that he's been disrespected because he isn't being paid what HE feels he's worth.

This is what Matt Forte got as a contract as a second round rookie.

Previous Contracts
2008-2011
Team:Chicago Bears Contract: 4 yr(s) / $3,781,000 Free Agent Type:UFA	2008: 295,000 2009: 385,000 2010: 470,000 2011: 555,000	$2 million guaranteed Signing bonus: $1.533 million Incentives: $528,167

With incentives (which I'm sure he collected) a little over $4.3 mil. $2 mil of that guaranteed and of that two mil $1.5 mil and change was earned the day he signed his contract. So there's $2 mil of risk the Bears took day one on a guy other teams shied away from because of a college knee injury without knowing if he'd ever even crack the starting lineup. So if the Bears now ask him to share some risk with them to the tune of a couple of mil or so that he may end up less productive a year or two from now than he was or that he'll suffer a career ending injury are they completely out of line?

Yes, Matt Forte outplayed that contract by a wide margin. And yes Matt Forte is one to the top ten RB's and one of the top fifty players in the NFL period. But there are others in that territory making even less than $7-$8 mil because the position the play doesn't earn that amount. Despite what others have been paid or in some instances overpaid the the reality is the Bears are only going to pay him what he's worth to the Bears. What other teams paid other backs is of little concern to them if those amounts are far beyond what they feel is a reasonable amount to pay.

Respect has nothing to do with this anymore. Matt has been told by his HC and and teammates how important he is to the team. They have expressed no concerns whatsoever about his showing up in condition and ready to play come September. His peers voted him to a Pro Bowl despite the fact that he missed one quarter of a season. Those are all signs of respect. The amount of money he's getting is not.

This has to do with business decisions on the part of the Bears that have far more implications than we could ever know. Other contracts need to be extended. Other top players need to be paid too and as Osi Umenyiora said they can't pay us all as All Pro's. Matt's decision of whether to play or not is also a business decision just like any of the rest of us would make if we felt we weren't felt we weren't being fairly compensated for the job we do. We can elect to forego our salaries and not show up for work too. Matt has that same option.

Let's be honest and call a spade a spade. This dispute is all about money and nothing but money. The very fact that the Bears are offering a contract that they believe will allow Matt to play out the rest of his NFL career with the Bears is in itself a sign of respect. Offering less than MATT feels he's worth has nothing to do with respect. It has to do with economics and any implication to the contrary is just plain inaccurate and wrong.

All good by me. I just want them to come to some meeting of the minds so that he does finish his playing days with the Bears. I think he deserves it and as fans we deserve it too.