- Donovan McNabb
Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He attended Syracuse University. McNabb's best season came in 2004, when he helped the Eagles win the National Football Conference Championship.
- Chris Brown
Christopher Rejean Brown (born April 17 1981, in Winfield, Illinois) is an American football running back for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League.
- Walter Payton
Walter Jerry Payton was an American football running back for the Chicago Bears. Payton, a Pro Football Hall of Fame member, distinguished himself as one of the National Football League’s most productive and memorable players. He also set many rushing records during his professional and collegiate career. After a standout career at Jackson State University, The Bears drafted Payton with the fourth overall selection in the 1975 NFL Draft.
- Mike Ditka
Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. (born October 18, 1939, in Carnegie, Pennsylvania) also known as Iron Mike Ditka or Da Coach, is a former American NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach and a head coach; and was the only individual to participate in two Chicago Bears' championships, …
- Tank Johnson
Terry "Tank" Johnson (born December 7, 1981) is an American football player who last played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. Drafted in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft from University of Washington, he was one of the Bears' defensive tackles. He was notably a member of the Bears during their Super Bowl run in 2006.
- George Halas
George Stanley Halas (February 2 1895 - October 31 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was an American player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional football and the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears.
- Reuben Droughns
Reuben Droughns (born August 21, 1978 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American football running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League.
- Shannon Sharpe
Shannon Sharpe (born June 26, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former American Football tight end and wide receiver who played 12 of his 14 seasons with the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Sharpe is known both for his creative commentary and trash talking and his incredible football skills. Among tight ends, he is the NFL's all-time receptions and yardage leader.
- Bill Callahan
Bill Callahan (born July 31, 1956, in Chicago, Illinois, is the head coach of the University of Nebraska football team. He was named head coach of the Cornhuskers in 2004. Callahan was formerly the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in the National Football League.
- Napoleon Harris
Napoleon Harris nicknamed Napo (born February 25, 1979 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American Football player who currently plays middle linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL. Harris was the 23rd overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft, and was traded from the Oakland Raiders to Minnesota along with a first round draft pick for wide receiver Randy Moss.
- Garrett Wolfe
Garrett Wolfe (born August 17, 1984 in Chicago, Illinois) is a running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He played his collegiate football at Northern Illinois University, where he set several school rushing and scoring records. The Chicago Bears drafted Wolfe in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft as the 93rd overall selection.
- Kelvin Hayden
Kelvin Darnell Hayden, Jr. (born July 28 1983 in Chicago, Illinois, USA) is a NFL cornerback for the Indianapolis Colts. He was originally selected in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft out of the University of Illinois. He returned a Rex Grossman interception for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLI. It was the first interception of his NFL career.
- Hank Stram
Hank Stram, was an American Football coach. He is best known for his 14-year tenure with the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. Stram won three AFL Championships (more than any other coach in the league's history) and Super Bowl IV with the Chiefs. He also coached for the most victories (87), most post-season appearances (6) and the best post-season record in the AFL (5-1).
- David Diehl
David Diehl (born September 15, 1980 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American football player with Croatian and German background. He is an offensive lineman in the National Football League. Diehl is currently a starter on the offensive line for the New York Giants, and is one of only two offensive lineman to enter the NFL in 2003 and start all 48 regular season games through the end of the 2005 season.
- Steve Atwater
Stephen Dennis Atwater (born October 28, 1966 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former American football player who spent most of his career playing free safety for the Denver Broncos of the NFL.
- Fritz Pollard
Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard was the first African American head coach in the National Football League (NFL). Pollard along with Bobby Marshall were the first two African American players in the NFL in 1920. Pollard graduated from Lane Tech high school in Chicago where he ran track. Pollard played college football at Brown University and later played professional football with the Akron Pros, the team he would lead to the NFL (APFA) championship in 1920.
- Russell Maryland
Russell James Maryland (born March 22, 1969 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former National Football League player. In an NFL career lasting ten years, he played defensive tackle and nose tackle for the Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, and the Green Bay Packers.
- Ahmad Merritt
Ahmad Rashad Merritt (born February 5, 1977 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL. He originally signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2000. He also has played for the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League.
- Darryl Stingley
Darryl Floyd Stingley (September 18 1951 - April 5 2007) was an American professional football wide receiver whose career was cut short by injury. He had a five-year career from 1973 to 1977. He played his entire career with the New England Patriots of the National Football League.
- Dan Santucci
Dan Santucci (born September 6, 1983) is a National Football League center who currently plays for the Cincinnati Bengals. He attended Notre Dame, where he played as a guard. Brother Paul played football and baseball at the University of Chicago
- Howard Griffith
Howard Griffith (born November 17, 1967 in Chicago, Illinois) is a retired American football fullback who spent 8 seasons in the NFL (1993-2000). While at the University of Illinois, Howard set the NCAA record for touchdowns in a game with eight. It occurred on September 8, 1990 against Southern Illinois University. Griffith was drafted in the ninth round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts, but never played for the Colts.
- Chris Zorich
Christopher Robert Zorich (born March 13, 1969 in Chicago) is a retired American football player. He was a defensive tackle. An only child of African American and Croatian descent, Zorich was raised by his mother on the South Side of Chicago, where he attended Chicago Vocational High School. He received a scholarship to play football for the University of Notre Dame in 1987, and he would win multiple accolades during his tenure with the Fighting Irish, …
- Jerry Markbreit
Jerry Markbreit (born March 23, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former American football referee in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons and became one of the most recognizable referees in the game. Markbreit officiated football games for 43 seasons. From 1966 to 1975, Markbreit officiated college football games in the Big Ten Conference. He then joined the NFL in 1976 as a Line Judge before being promoted to the head referee position in just his second year.
- Rich Gardner
Richard James Gardner (born February 1, 1981 in Carbondale, Illinois) is a professional American football player. He has played defensive back for the Tennessee Titans and the Seattle Seahawks in the National Football League. He played for the Titans from 2004 until he was waived on September 4, 2006. He signed with the Seahawks in week 17 of the 2006 season and was waived on July 11, 2007.
- Frankie Albert
Frank Cullen "Frankie" Albert (January 27, 1920 - September 5, 2002) was a quarterback in the NFL. Frankie Albert, who was born in Chicago, starred at Stanford University coached by T formation apostle Clark Shaughnessy. At Stanford he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. In the 1942 NFL Draft he was drafted by the Chicago Bears as a 10th overall pick. For his entire career, he played for the San Francisco 49ers.
- Darrell Hill
Darrell Hill (born June 19, 1979 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American football wide receiver in the NFL who currently plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. He previously played for the Tennessee Titans and went to Northern Illinois University. He currently wears number 9. Hill possesses a 4.4 time in the 40-yard dash and a 42-inch vertical jump.
- Johnnie Harris
Johnnie Harris (born August 21, 1972 in Chicago, Illinois) is an Arena Football League defensive specialist with the Philadelphia Soul. He has previously played for the Tampa Bay Storm (1996-1998) Orlando Predators (2005) and Grand Rapids Rampage (2006). Harris also played in the National Football League as a defensive back for the Oakland Raiders (1999-2000) and the New York Giants (2000-2003) Harris also played three seasons in the Canadian Football League, …
- Russ Purnell
Russ Purnell (born June 12, 1948 in Chicago) is the special teams coach of the National Football League Indianapolis Colts.
- Edward Sternaman
Edward Sternaman, better known as Dutch, was an American player, coach, and owner in professional football for the NFL's Chicago Bears. Sternaman and George Halas took over management of the Decatur Staleys (as the Bears were then known) in 1920 when both were working for the A. E. Staley Co., a corn products firm in Decatur, Illinois. Sternaman and Halas both starred in football at the University of Illinois under the coaching of Bob Zuppke.
- Mitch Johnson
Mitchell Allen Johnson (born March 1, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American football offensive lineman in the NFL for four different teams. He played college football for UCLA and California State University, Los Angeles.
- Jack Manders
Jack Manders (born January 13, 1909 in Milbank, South Dakota, died January 29, 1977 in Chicago, Illinois) was a National Football League running back for the Chicago Bears from 1933 through 1940. He is the older brother of Clarence (Pug) Manders.
- Clarence Vaughn
Clarence Vaughn III (born July 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American football safety for the NFL's Washington Redskins.
- Steve Conley
Donald Steven Conley (born January 18, 1972 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former American football linebacker in the NFL. Conley played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts in his three year career. He attended the University of Arkansas. Conley is the younger brother of Olympic medalist Mike Conley, Sr., and the uncle of Ohio State basketball player Mike Conley, Jr.
- Frederick Evans
Frederick H. Evans (born November 6, 1983 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American football defensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Dolphins in the seventh round (212th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played collegiate at Texas State.
- Nolan Harrison
Nolan Harrison III (born January 25, 1969 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American football defensive lineman who played ten seasons in the National Football League for the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Washington Redskins. He played college football for Indiana University.
- Eric Yarber
Eric Lamone Yarber (born September 22, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American football wide receiver for the NFL's Washington Redskins. He played college football for the University of Idaho.
- Tommy O'Connell
Tommy O'Connell (born September 26, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois) was a former American professional football player who played in five NFL and AFL seasons from 1953-1961 for 3 different teams.
- Walt Barnes
Walter Charles Barnes (born January 19, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American football defensive lineman in the NFL for the Washington Redskins and the Denver Broncos. He played college football for the University of Nebraska.
- Bill Decorrevont
William John DeCorrevont (November 26, 1918 - September 6, 1995) was an American football running back in the NFL for the Washington Redskins, Chicago Cardinals, and the Chicago Bears. He also played quarterback for the Detroit Lions. He played college football for Northwestern University.
- Andre Townsend
Andre Townsend (born October 8, 1962 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former defensive end who played 7 seasons for the Denver Broncos in the National Football League. He strated in Super Bowl XXI and Super Bowl XXII.