The alternate uniform the Bears unveiled Tuesday — and will wear on Christmas Day against the Packers — was more notable for what it wasn’t than for what it was.
It wasn’t shiny or futuristic. It wasn’t jet black or icy white.
It looked like the Bears. Very intentionally so.
Thank God.
The Bears consider their uniforms timeless, the way the Yankees do. But for a few details, the Bears’ standard home and away uniforms have remained the same since 1963, when they first put decals on their helmets. The Bears guard that tradition carefully.
Having to create an alternate uniform merely to satisfy Nike’s “Rivalries” program was a challenge to the consistency they hold so dear. They pulled it off. As an added bonus, the uniform looks good. One glance at the seven other teams that released their alternate uniforms Tuesday proves that it could have been much, much worse.
Anyone who knows Bears chairman George McCaskey — himself a uniform connoisseur — figured the Bears would lean heavily into their history, rather than looking forward.
The navy jersey uses a different number font than the Bears’ regular uniforms — it’s similar, though, to what they wore in 1948. The stripes on the sleeves run vertical, not horizontal, and harken back to the vertical stripes across the front of the jersey of some of the Bears’ earliest teams. With founder George S. Halas’ initials removed from the sleeve, the Bears put a “GSH” patch in the shape of a football on their chest. It’s the same patch they wore after his death in 1983 and similar to the Virginia McCaskey memorial patch they wore last year.
The orange helmet is the same one they released in 2022, though with a new “Bears” nose bumper and Chicago stars stripped across the back padding. Each team that announced their “Rivalries” series uniform set Tuesday had a helmet decal they’d worn before, and the Bears were no different.
There’s one brand-new element. The Bears have never in their 106-year history had orange pants, equipment director Tony Medlin said, until now.
Put together, the helmet, jersey and pants make the Bears look like the University of Illinois — but then again, they always have. The Bears have worn navy and orange since 1920 because those were the colors of Halas’ alma mater.
Monsters never die. They are reborn. pic.twitter.com/E7D2oGqi8t
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 25, 2026
The team also released a retro-inspired logo — an orange football with the word “Chicago” written across it and a navy bear crawling over it. Jerseys and sideline gear will go on sale Sept. 1.
Nike began the “Rivalries” program a year ago, unveiling alternate uniforms for teams from the AFC East and the NFC West. This year, the company, which has exclusive rights to produce NFL on-field uniforms and apparel, worked with teams from the NFC North and AFC South to develop their alternates.
McCaskey, who had a hand in their design, was not part of a panel discussion about them at Halas Hall on Tuesday. Rather, the Bears leaned on staff members, with vice president of brand creative John Conroy summarizing the uniform challenge succinctly.
Every stitch tells a story 🧵 pic.twitter.com/JUH1jDFPFi
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 25, 2026
“We don’t have many opportunities to do brand new things around here,” he said.
When Virginia McCaskey died last year, her son honored her not only with a jersey patch but by having the team wear their traditional home and away uniforms all year long, the way she liked it. When the Bears hosted two playoff games, McCaskey decided to pair the Bears’ traditional home navy jerseys with their road navy pants.
Not all people inside Halas Hall are so into the topic.
“What uniforms?” head coach Ben Johnson said before Tuesday’s practice, hours after they were revealed to the public and months after the Bears settled on the design. “I haven’t even seen them.”