Bears’ Charles Tillman: ‘I’m just a salary cap number’
By Jack Crosby
There were a lot of Chicago Bears fans that were nervous as the free agency period approached that they would be losing one of the more beloved figures in recent team history as defensive back Charles Tillman was set to hit the open market. Well as it turned out, Tillman ended up re-signing with the team for one year and $3.25 million.
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It was nice for all involved to be able to make this happen and get him back on the field for a 12th season with the team. However, Tillman also realizes from his years in the league that this is a business, and at the end of the day, he’s just a number on the cap sheet.
“At the end of the day this is a business,” Tillman said. “Despite all that I’ve done for Chicago, none of that matters, that doesn’t mean a thing. I’m just a [salary] cap number. I realize that. They realize that. It’s the game. It’s the world we live in. I’m very well aware of that. At the end of the day it was business. At the end of the day it’s always business. If I get hurt, if I go down, the show goes on. I’m replaced. When I retire, it’ll be somebody else and I’ll be long gone and forgotten. That’s just how this business and this league operates.
“So it was just all business at the end of the day. I didn’t take it personally. They didn’t take it personally. They were just trying to get the best guy at the cheapest amount. That’s just kind of how this business roles.”