National Football League

Hall of Fame defensive tackle Steve McMichael dies after ALS battle

Updated Apr. 25, 2025 3:04 a.m. ET

Hall of Fame defensive tackle Steve McMichael, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2021, has died, according to Jarrett Payton, the son of Chicago Bears legendary running back Walter Payton. The NFL also announced the news.

McMichael died at Lightways Hospice in suburban Joliet, his publicist, Betsy Shepherd, told The Associated Press. He was 67.

McMichael played on the Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl championship team and was an All-Pro in 1985 and 1987. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024. He played in a franchise-record 191 consecutive games from 1981 to 1993 and ranks second to Richard Dent on the Bears’ all-time sacks list with 92.5. His final NFL season was with Green Bay in 1994.

McMichael’s brash personality and willingness to say whatever was on his mind made him a perfect fit for pro wrestling. He began working for World Championship Wrestling in the 1990s at the height of the "Monday Night Wars" with the World Wrestling Federation, starting as a color commentator and later joining Ric Flair in the "Four Horsemen" group.

He told the Chicago Tribune in April 2021 that he was struggling with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, which affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control.

McMichael had been experiencing tingling in his arms for some time that he figured was a neck or spine issue stemming from his playing days or his work as a wrestler. A neurosurgeon at the Mayo Clinic suggested in September 2020 that he had ALS. McMichael sought other opinions, and in January 2021, doctors in Chicago confirmed the diagnosis.

Though he mostly retreated from public life following his announcement, photos posted on social media by family and friends showed his decline. McMichael went from a 270-pound giant who used to blast through blockers and drive wrestlers headfirst into the mat with the "Mongo spike" to someone who was rail-thin, bedridden and hooked up to machines as his body failed him.

Pro Football Hall of Fame president and CEO Jim Porter said in a statement: "Steve McMichael told everyone he would fight ALS with the same tenacity he showed for 15 seasons in the National Football League. And he did just that. Everyone who played with or against Steve shares the same opinion: No one battled longer or harder from the snap until the whistle than Steve the player."

Reporting by The Associated Press.