The Chicago Bears lost two franchise icons earlier this year. The organization will be paying tribute to both of them on the field this season.
The Bears will honor the late Virginia Halas McCaskey with a jersey patch and the late Steve McMichael with a helmet decal.
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McCaskey, formerly the owner and matriarch of the Bears, died on Feb. 2. She was 102. Her initials are at the front and center of a football-shaped patch that’s stitched onto the left breastplate of the Bears’ 2025 jerseys. The football is orange, and McCaskey’s initials are navy blue.
The patch is strikingly similar to the one Chicago used during the 1983 season to commemorate McCaskey’s father, George Halas, who founded, owned, coached and played for the Bears over the course of a Pro Football Hall of Fame career.
“We thought it would be appropriate if her patch mirrored her dad’s from 1983,” George McCaskey, son of Virginia and current Bears owner, told the team’s website.
“So it’s the same size, the same color combination. The only thing that’s different, of course, is the initials. We thought that was the right thing to do.”
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The “VMH” patch will make its debut on Aug. 10 when the Bears kick off preseason action at home against the Miami Dolphins.
Also in honor of McCaskey, Chicago won’t wear alternate or throwback uniforms this season. Per the team website, the Bears will wear navy jerseys and white pants at home and white jerseys and navy pants on the road. Players will be outfitted with the franchise’s famous navy helmets for every game.
On the back of each of those helmets will lie a football-shaped decal, with McMichael’s No. 76 featured under the laces. That same logo will be painted on the grass of Soldier Field for every Bears home game this season.
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McMichael, a Hall of Fame defensive tackle who played for the organization from 1981-93, died at 67 years old on April 23 after battling ALS. McMichael was part of the 1985 Bears, who went 15-1 before winning Super Bowl XX.
The decal logo will also be painted on the grass at Soldier Field for every Bears home game.
Even though the 2025 season marks a new era for the franchise, with George McCaskey taking over as owner and Ben Johnson taking over as head coach, the Bears are faithfully remembering their past, too.
