Bears Legend Steve McMichael Had CTE

Steve "Mongo" McMichael's final diagnosis adds another data point to football's mounting brain-injury toll, reports the Athletic. Boston University researchers have determined the late Chicago Bears star had stage 3 chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the Concussion & CTE Foundation announced Tuesday. McMichael, who died in April 2025 at 67 after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, played football for more than two decades, from the University of Texas to the Bears, but never publicly faulted the sport. Neuropathologist Dr. Ann McKee said about 6% of brains in BU's CTE bank also show ALS, and pointed to "strong evidence" tying repeated head impacts to the fatal motor neuron disease; a 2021 study found NFL players are more than four times as likely to develop ALS as other men.

McMichael's wife, Misty, said the family shared the CTE finding to highlight what she called a "clear connection" between the two conditions, noting "too many" NFL players are developing ALS and posthumously being found to have CTE. "Steve McMichael was known for his strength, toughness, and larger-than-life presence, but his final act was to give a piece of himself back to the sports community so that we might have a chance to save ourselves," said the Concussion & CTE Foundation's co-founder Chris Nowinski, per the AP. McMichael, who gradually lost his ability to speak, is being honored alongside former Bears teammate Dave Duerson—who was also diagnosed with CTE—at the Concussion & CTE Foundation's Race to End CTE event in Chicago on April 23.