Bears running back Matt Forte said the organization’s plan to apply the franchise tag after the season rather than sign him to the contract extension he had hoped for may guarantee he will remain a Bear through 2013, but it does not leave Forte with a feeling of loyalty from the team according to Melissa Isaacson of ESPNChicago.com.
“I know I’m loyal to my teammates and my team are my guys, but it doesn’t seem like the organization is to me,” the Bears’ running back said Tuesday after practice. “But that doesn’t keep me from going out on the field and putting my best out there.”
Forte said while it did not make sense to him to apply the franchise tag since the Bears will end up paying him approximately the same as his original asking price, and despite the fact that general manager Jerry Angelo promised him a new contract would be a top priority in training camp, it was not unexpected.
“It wasn’t a shock. I knew it was an option,” he said. “My agent informed me about that before we started negotiating with them. (But) we were looking to get a deal and the franchise tag is not going to be a solution.”
“I play for myself and my teammates and my family. I learned that it really is a business and that they really don’t care about your personal life or anything like that. It’s the National Football League and these organizations are in a business. That’s the bad part about it.”
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