On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Matt Forte picked up his five-year-old daughter from her half-day pre-Kindergarten. Daddy, daddy! Nala shouted gleefully as she ran toward her father. Forte took her hand and the two walked back to his car, Nala chattering enthusiastically about her morning at school.
It’s moments like these, as simple as school pickup duty, that reinforce Forte’s decision to retire after a 10-year NFL career. “I get to see my daughter smile and run up to me, which I didn’t get to do much when I played,” he says. The former Bears and Jets running back will be remembered as one of the best multidimensional running backs in of his generation, part of a trend of backs who excelled as both rushers and receivers—and who fought to be compensated in a way that reflected their dual role.