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Brian Urlacher calls his former team’s bluff.
The Chicago Bears say they are moving from the Windy City to Hammond, Indiana, announcing in June that they were “advanced”[ing]their stadium project in the city.
But Urlacher is still holding out hope of at least staying in the state of Illinois.
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Brian Urlacher, a former Chicago Bears player, is honored during halftime of a game between the Chicago Bears and the Seattle Seahawks at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois on September 17, 2018. (Patrick Gorski/USA TODAY Sports)
“I think it was still a ploy to try to get the state of Illinois to do something more than what they’ve done, which is nothing,” Urlacher told Pakinomist Digital recently. “The Bears bought the land in Arlington Heights. They have it there, ready to go. They just need a little bit of funding from the state to build the stadium.
“I just can’t see the Bears leaving Illinois. It drives me crazy. And I don’t want them to leave Soldier Field, honestly. I wish they could figure out how to keep them there, but they want a dome, they want Super Bowls, they want Final Fours. They want all the big things. I get it. I just hate that place is Soldier Field.”
“I understand Indiana is offering them some good deals tax-wise — $2.5 billion to build the stadium. That’s a big deal. As a businessman, which the owners have to be these days, it makes sense to go. Unless Illinois comes through with something, I don’t see them staying there,” he added.
Maybe Urlacher’s son, Kennedy, can be a Hammond legend — he’s currently a safety at USC after playing his freshman season with Notre Dame. He played in the national championship with the Fighting Irish, but it was time to move on.
“NIL has been great for him,” Urlacher admitted. But the Urlachers also knew Kennedy would be a starter with the Trojans.
Maybe the last name Kennedy helped get some more money, but dad said Kennedy will earn everything on his own.
Kennedy Urlacher of the Southern California Trojans looks up at the crowd during a game between UCLA and USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 29, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Melinda Meijer/ISI Images via Getty Images)
CHICAGO BEARS LEGEND BRIAN URLACHER MELTS ILLINOIS DEMOCRATS AS TEAM PREPARES TO LEAVE THE STATE
“I’ll tell you what he does: He beats his a–. I don’t care what his name is. His name could be Johnson. It doesn’t matter. This guy plays hard. He takes care, man. Every time I call him, he’s working out, he’s doing something. He doesn’t want anything given to him because of his last name. That’s not why he wants to be there because he wants to be there. It’s because he beat his a– and he got there…” Urlacher said.
“He doesn’t want something because of his last name. He wants it because he deserved it.”
Urlacher said despite not liking what the NIL has done to college sports, he obviously wishes he played in the era. “As long as the NCAA doesn’t get the money, I like it,” he said of athletes getting paid.
But the Hall of Famer is making up for lost time by investing in Joey nicotine pouches.
Joey has 36 different flavors, and Urlacher knows that “the bag room is blown up.”
“Everybody I play golf with, everybody I’m around, they’re always switching out these wallet things. I had a chance to invest and it was a no-brainer for me,” he said. They sent me the deck and I thought, ‘This seems like a home run.’
Linebacker Brian Urlacher #54 of the Chicago Bears lines up against the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium on November 18, 2011 in Miami, Florida. The Bears defeated the Dolphins 16-0. (Getty Images)
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“It’s definitely safer than smoking or doing vape stuff because they don’t know the long-term effects of vaping,” he said, expressing his personal opinion. “But what’s crazy is how quickly it catches on. Everyone’s doing them. My daughter brings her friends over and they’re all three of them. I’m like, ‘Whoa, she’s doing them too.’ The younger generations are really big on them. But I think I notice it the most when I’m playing golf and every guy in my group changes one every three holes. I’m like, ‘Damn, this is a big deal’.”
Although the FDA has approved nicotine pouch products for sale in the United States, health experts warn of the effects they can have, especially on younger people. A recent nationwide study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology also suggested that smoke-free alternatives could increase the risk of serious eye diseases compared to quitting nicotine altogether.
