Chicago, IL – The Chicago Bears and running back Matt Forte have agreed to a four-year contract.
The two sides had until Monday afternoon to work out a long-term pact or Forte would have had to settle for a one-year franchise offer of $7.74 million for the 2012 season. There had been speculation that Forte would have held out during training camp if a multi-year deal had not been reached.
"I'm proud to be a Chicago Bear and excited to be here for another four years," Forte said. "I'd like to thank my family, my agent and the Chicago Bears. I've been working hard this offseason and am looking forward to joining my teammates at training camp next week. I'm glad the business part is done and we can all turn our attention to football and our goal of winning a championship."
Forte played out his rookie contract in 2011 and finished a Pro Bowl campaign with 997 rushing yards and three touchdowns despite missing the final four games due to a right knee injury. He also caught 52 passes for 490 yards and a score.
The 26-year-old Tulane product has 4,233 rushing yards and 1,985 receiving yards with 29 touchdowns in his four-year career.
