The Bears were founded in Decatur, Illinois, by George Halas, in 1919. They were first called the Decatur Staleys, after the A.E. Staley Starch Company which owned the team for its first two seasons. The team has won nine NFL Championships, with the last being in 1985 (Super Bowl XX). They also played in Super Bowl XLI in 2006 against the Indianapolis Colts, but they lost 29-17 to Peyton Manning and the Colts.
The Bears play their home games at Soldier Field. They played there from 1974 to 2001 and then 2003-present (Soldier Field was being made new in 2002). The Bears had played at Wrigley Field from 1921 to 1970. Wrigley Field is the home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, and the Bears were named after the Cubs.
The Bears have retired 14 uniform numbers, more than any NFL team.
Since 2006, the Bears have struggled to find success, going fifteen years in between playoff wins from 2011 to 2026. During that time, the Bears have had 23 different starting quarterbacks and six different head coaches. In September 2025, a sale of a minority stake in the team valued the Bears at $8.9 billion.
↑"Chicago Bears Team Facts". ProFootballHOF.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
↑"Brand Guidelines". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
↑"History of the Bears Uniform"(PDF). 2025 Chicago Bears Media Guide(PDF). NFL Enterprises, LLC. September 14, 2025. Retrieved November 9, 2025. In 1935 the Bears introduced an orange jersey with black arm stripes and black helmet and by 1958 were wearing the familiar navy blue with burnt orange.
↑Temple, Christine (September 24, 2025). "Bears hit valuation of $8.9B after recent minority sale". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved 28 December 2025. The Bears earlier this month reached a "new record for a minority stake sale in an NFL team." The estate of Andre McKenna Sr. sold a 2.35% stake to the two current owners, the McCaskey family and the Ryan family, was sold for a total that put the valuation of the franchise at $8.9B.