Now that OTA's have started in the NFL, there isn't much news at this stage in the off-season. The main storyline remains the contract situations of football stars such as Drew Brees and Matt Forte.
As a fan, I see both sides of things. Each player wants longterm stability and money, and each wants to be paid near/at the top of the pay scale. Each player is basically at the prime of their careers and they want to be paid like it. And honestly, each player is one of the best at the positions. I view each differently though.
The Saints situation is an easy solution...pay Brees what he wants. He basically put up the best numbers in the NFL last year as a QB. He is your franchise. And with their coach sidelined for the year, he is their stability and source of leadership. The longer he is out the longer they are stuck without moving forward.
Not only that, but QB's win football games. They are the most important players on the fields so locking him up is a no brainer. Any other position you can deal with when you don't have a star, but not at the QB position.
The Forte situation is a lot trickier. I'm with Matt that he is one of the best RB's in the game. He can run and is one of the best pass catching backs as well. He produces despite a terrible offensive line and a lack of quality receivers around him to take pressure off. He accounted for a majority of their offense when he played last year. And at a position that fluctuates a lot year to year, he wants his big contract now. I get that.
But that is part of the problem as well. Bears' management know that RB's don't sustain that high level of play as long as other positions. And with the signing of Michael Bush, they have quality at the RB spot already. Also, he got injured last year and missed the second part of the season. That's a major concern. They don't want to shell out all this money to a guy that may not live up to the contract, or even be healthy throughout the length of it.
The Bears have made some large offers, but Matt wants more. Personally as a Bears fan, I want Forte in uniform, but don't want to break the bank either. I want to see that money go other places, particularly because our defense is aging and we need to address that in the off-season next year. But at the same time, the Bears can do big things this year, maybe win a Super Bowl, but they need Forte to do that. Why can't they just meet in the middle?
And I hate contact holdouts. Chris Johnson tried that last year and when he finally returned he was awful (compared to pre-holdout). It's a lose lose situation for all. So I hope they get things figured out soon.
Bottom line is this: when they are making the amount of money they are, what's a couple million? If they are smart with their finances, every player in the NFL should be set for life. Big stars (like Brees and Forte) should be set for their lives, and the lives of generations to come. So it makes me angry when these guys complain about money. But that is professional sports, and we'll continue to hear about it. We can all agree about this though...I can't wait for the NFL season to get here.
Andrew
Good points, and I agree with you on most of them.
ReplyDeleteAs far a Brees goes, the Saints have to pay him like a top 5 QB in the league. The problem is there is a wide range in that 'top 5'. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning's contracts are as follows....TB-18M/Year, PM- 19.2M/Year. Aaron Rodgers(considered by many to be the best QB in the game) is making 16.6, very similar to Eli Manning. That's a range of nearly 3M. We don't think that's a lot, and in reality it probably isn't to these guys. But the people who these #'s really matter to are the agents for these players. They want to get their guys the best money possible, so they look as good as possible, and can get more clients to come to them. This is really the problem with these situations. If it was up to the players and the teams I truly believe these situations would be resolved much quicker and with far less money involved, but the agents try and squeeze every last dime out of teams for their players(which a good agent should do, its the system I'm talking about here). Point being, I don't believe the Saints and Brees are very close on numbers, because Brees is probably shooting for something close to PM or TB, and the Saints are looking at comparable QB's in their own conference. I doubt Brees will hold out, but I don't see this situation being resolved anytime soon.
The Forte situation is different. RB's typically only have a shelf life, and teams(with the extraordinarily exceptional players excluded) shouldn't spend a premium amount of money on the RB position for the most part. Forte's salary of 7.7M this year is more than fair in my opinion, especially considering the Bears' offense around him has gotten significantly better. Yes he was 50% of the offense before he went out, but that's with your 1,2,3 receivers being Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, and Earl Bennett. Whatever the Bears keep saying about Devin Hester, he's no better than a #3 situational receiver, and Earl Bennett is better suited to that role. So Forte is now surrounded by Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Michael Bush, and an improving offensive line. It makes no sense for the Bears to lock up Forte long term if they can franchise him this year, and then draft a younger talented RB in next years draft, with Michael Bush already locked up for the next 4 years. If he goes somewhere else and does well for a season, all power to him, but it makes much more sense, especially with the mileage Forte already has on him, to play him this season, and let him go at the end of the year and get paid what he thinks he can get paid. That scenario is probably what's best for both parties.
I agree the Bears should not overpay for him. But Forte is only 26 and still has some great years ahead (actually he was born on the same day as me...December 10, 1985). So I would hate for us to simply let him go. The Bears don't want to be the team that lets him go only to see him become an MVP or something. I am always one for at the minimum trading so you get something in return. So if the Bears and Forte can't come to a deal, then the Bears should at least trade him. I still think they try and lock him up because, like I said before, they do have a legit shot at a Super Bowl in next two years with him. Without him it gets tougher!
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