Matt Forte Has a Pile of Money Sitting on the Table

Sources are reporting that contract talks between the Chicago Bears and running back Matt Forte are coming to a crescendo and both sides are optimistic that a deal will get done before the start of the regular season on September 11.

According to ESPN Chicago’s Michael Wright, the recent Frank Gore deal may be the springboard to getting the deal done:

"Escalation of the Forte talks coincide with San Francisco running back Frank Gore’s recently signing a three-year, $21 million extension, which included $13.5 million guaranteed. While there is no indication that Gore’s deal has affected the talks, the numbers certainly line up. According to NFL sources, the Bears initially used the six-year, $32 million ($10 million guaranteed) contract signed by Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles as the baseline for a potential Forte deal. But it’s believed the guaranteed portion of the Bears’ actual offer to Forte is worth less than the guarantee received by Gore, which brings up an interesting conundrum for both sides."

As it stands right now, the Bears supposedly have a deal on the table worth $13-$14 million in guaranteed money.  I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t sign a deal worth $13 million fast enough.   It must be nice to be sitting on a lottery ticket and all you have to do is go cash it.

For Matt’s sake, I just hope he doesn’t run his ticket through the washing machine and lose it.  For the Bears’ sake, I hope this $13 million is a better investment than the $13 mill they pissed away on Chester Taylor and Brandon Manumane-useless.