The Bears trace their roots to 1919, when the A.E. Staley Company fielded a company team in Decatur, Illinois; George Halas and Dutch Sternaman took control in 1920, relocated the club to Chicago in 1921, and renamed it the Bears in 1922. Halas coached the franchise on and off for roughly four decades, building powerhouse teams around stars like Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski in the 1920s and 1930s. Quarterback Sid Luckman led Chicago to championships through the 1940s, including a 73-0 rout of Washington in the 1940 title game that remains the NFL's largest margin of victory, and the Bears added another title in 1963 behind a stingy defense.

Running back Walter Payton became the franchise's signature player after being drafted in 1975, and head coach Mike Ditka later assembled the dominant 1985 defense, led by Mike Singletary, Richard Dent, and Dan Hampton, that rolled to a Super Bowl XX victory over New England. The Bears reached Super Bowl XLI after the 2006 season but lost to Indianapolis, and the franchise had limited sustained success for years afterward. Long controlled by the Halas-McCaskey family, with George McCaskey now serving as chairman, the Bears returned to postseason contention by winning the NFC North in 2025.