Franchise Tag Fact

Under the new CBA the franchise tag values have dropped significantly. It used to be that if you were slapped with the franchise tag you got paid the average of the top five salaries at your position. Now it is the average of the top salary in each year over the last five years. Obviously this has a big impact on salaries.

For Matt Forte, under the old rules he would get about $8.6 million next year, but under the new rules he will get about $7.7 million. Given that, getting $14 million guaranteed is a very fair offer. He can risk injury or take the money and security.

The Bears have no need to go way over the franchise tag figure - it represents a very high salary. If Forte is franchised twice he will earn about $16 million for two years but it would only be guaranteed each year, meaning that if he is hurt this year he gets nothing. If he is hurt next year then he will "only" get $7.7 million. If he signs his extension now, he gets $14 million even if he is hurt in practice today.