Thread: Is Matt Forte Getting Bad Advice?.....................

With the exception of the part about Forte not being likely to sign his tender I have to agree with the rest. No matter how contentious this may get I don't see him letting his teammates down or foregoing almost $8 mil that he'll never make up for.

I don't know how much David Haugh knows or doesn't know about the situation but he and Brad Biggs who write daily columns are about as close to the Bears front office as it gets. The Trib has always been a big supporter of the GSH Bears going back to the very early years of the NFL and this is the second leak to come out about what Forte is looking for in the way of a contract.

I don't know whether to believe David Haugh or not but if Matt Forte is holding for amounts and guarantees greater than those received by McCoy or anyone of the other $40 mil plus club he's either from a different planet than the rest of us or he is getting bad advice from his agent. Since he has MJD holding out as well this could well be true and I've expressed that opinion myself more than once.

He has little or no leverage to force the Bears hand. If the Bears need to play without his services they can and will. If he does relent and sign his tender he's gonna find that he's a much smaller part of the Bears offense than he has been in the past which in a way is very good for him. Facts are facts. He's no longer the Bears primary or only offensive weapon.

The final point made is that despite their reputation to the contrary the Bears have not been at all cheapskates when it's come down to paying their best players. Even Lance Briggs complaints have been satisfied.....twice. Does it seem strange to anyone else but me that Matt Forte is the first contract battle we've had with a vet player in longer than I can remember.

Maybe my memory is poor but offhand I can't think of one player with whom we had a contract dispute since Mikey got kicked to the curb by Ginny and JA took over as GM. Can anyone think of even one. (Besides Briggs that is)

Originally Posted by soulman

With the exception of the part about Forte not being likely to sign his tender I have to agree with the rest. No matter how contentious this may get I don't see him letting his teammates down or foregoing almost $8 mil that he'll never make up for.

I don't know how much David Haugh knows or doesn't know about the situation but he and Brad Biggs who write daily columns are about as close to the Bears front office as it gets. The Trib has always been a big supporter of the GSH Bears going back to the very early years of the NFL and this is the second leak to come out about what Forte is looking for in the way of a contract.

I don't know whether to believe David Haugh or not but if Matt Forte is holding for amounts and guarantees greater than those received by McCoy or anyone of the other $40 mil plus club he's either from a different planet than the rest of us or he is getting bad advice from his agent. Since he has MJD holding out as well this could well be true and I've expressed that opinion myself more than once.

He has little or no leverage to force the Bears hand. If the Bears need to play without his services they can and will. If he does relent and sign his tender he's gonna find that he's a much smaller part of the Bears offense than he has been in the past which in a way is very good for him. Facts are facts. He's no longer the Bears primary or only offensive weapon.

The final point made is that despite their reputation to the contrary the Bears have not been at all cheapskates when it's come down to paying their best players. Even Lance Briggs complaints have been satisfied.....twice. Does it seem strange to anyone else but me that Matt Forte is the first contract battle we've had with a vet player in longer than I can remember.

Maybe my memory is poor but offhand I can't think of one player with whom we had a contract dispute since Mikey got kicked to the curb by Ginny and JA took over as GM. Can anyone think of even one. (Besides Briggs that is)

Benson comes to mind but that dispute was over his rookie deal and look how that worked out for him. The best thing Forte could do is fire his idiot agent, sign the offer that's on the table and get to camp.

Originally Posted by soulman

On Chicago Tribune Live, David Haugh discussed the ever-evolving franchise tag situation (or should we by this point say ever-devolving) and staked his claim that Forte wouldn't sign a deal worth $20 million guaranteed - essentially, a contract greater than LeSean McCoy's.

Where and when did I miss him rejecting a $20M guaranteed deal?

Or was he just speculating that he would not sign one if it was offered?

Benson was a total tool (I even saw that first hand, with him refusing to sign autographs after practice in '06, while Urlacher and company stayed on the field a little longer), and Mike Brown and Brian Urlacher famously roughed him up once for that (For those who know what i'm talking about, does anyone know where to find the video of it?), and Forte has the support of the locker room, not that that matters...

Originally Posted by The Benjamin

Where and when did I miss him rejecting a $20M guaranteed deal?

Or was he just speculating that he would not sign one if it was offered?

That was what I was questioning Benji. If you read it as written it says that David Haugh "stakes his claim" or in other words that's his position on it. Whether that's just speculation based on what's filtered down to him or whether he knows for a fact that the Bears have made such an offer isn't clear.

David Haugh discussed the ever-evolving franchise tag situation (or should we by this point say ever-devolving) and staked his claim that Forte wouldn't sign a deal worth $20 million guaranteed - essentially, a contract greater than LeSean McCoy's.

All I can derive from this and what Forte has said about not expecting to be the best paid back is that maybe his expectations fall somewhere in between the deals that AP and CJ got and the others that Foster, DWill and McCoy got. For Haugh to have said that he either assumes or knows that Forte is asking for more than those guys got.

Personally I don't buy that but I do believe he's getting very bad advice from his agent as far as how to handle this whole thing. At the very least he should sign his tender and open up some discussion on it again. Anyway you look at it he's pretty much cornered in a blind ally with nowhere to go. The fact that he has another client holding out with two years remaining on his deal says to me that Bakari is not a "good guy" at all. He's a lot more in the Drew Rosenhaus mold than other more ethical agents.

I don't know what they think they can accomplish holding out with little or no leverage. Doesn't it say in Sun Tzu, "The Art of War", that when you're outnumbered and have an indefensible position it's best to withdraw and fight another day? Right now I think that's where Forte is at. After this season is over the whole thing may change dramatically in his favor because, from his point of view, it can't really get any worse.

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

Henry, Benson was roughed up for his holding out, not b/c he didn't stick around for autographs. It's also(not even sure if it's only a rumor) that TJ had divided the locker against him before he even showed up.

But ya Benson was a tool...but looking at it now, can you really blame him? RB's get used up in their rookie deal then struggle to get a legit ext or long term top end deal. Hard to say he didn't do the right thing by holding out and getting what he could.

Forte has proven he can be a top and very productive back, and like you said his teammates have no issue w/what is going on so he's in a much better position to hold out then Benson was.

I meant that he was roughed up for being a tool lol

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

All #'s outside the 15 mil the Bears offered last year is speculation OMC. RB's, get about one contract to make all their money; the one after their rookie deal. He's not getting bad advise, he's doing EXACTLY what he has to to get the most he can; doesn't guarantee it's going to work but holding out in the past has, and will continue to work and be the players best option in contract disputes.

Ric these are the major points on which you and I disagree. This says it all in a nut shell.

So, really, what's Forte's leverage? None. Holdouts were and are typically used to amplify leverage. The problem is that he's no longer in a position to have that leverage amplified. "He's not the team's only offensive weapon anymore" - his case amounts to "You used to not be able to live without me." Too bad for Matt he can't retroactively hold out for the 2010 or 2011 seasons.

This is where all leverage is lost. It makes no difference what has worked for others in the past. This isn't the past and this isn't any other situation. It's not formulaic. This is completely dependent on the circumstances surrounding this dispute and no other. Matt Forte has no leverage to use.

If he stays out for the season he loses almost $8 mil and does nothing to add anything positive to his reputation. If he thinks it's worth that much to prove his point then more power too him. If that's what he chooses to do in all likelihood the Bears will wash there hands of him, let him go, and move on. There are other fish in the sea that aren't so hard to catch.

The Bears are more than prepared to move on without him and if that's not abundantly clear to him yet then yes, he truly is getting bad advice from his agent. Bush and Bell are secured and while neither is the equal of Matt Forte the Bears can still win with those two at RB. The Bears will adapt to life without him and just redirect the offense a bit.

What he and his agent can't seem to grasp is that his competition isn't Bush or Bell. It's the rookie back the Bears can draft to take his place that will make over four years what he wants for one. There's always a choke point in any negotiations and once you've reached that point it only makes sense to realize it and stop trying to push beyond it if you hope to come to an agreement. The plain fact of the matter is he needs the Bears more than the Bears need him.