Behind the Scenes: Generations of Bears players meet for Nike's Rivalries uniform shoot
Story by Gabby Hajduk, photographs by Jacob Funk
In collaboration with Nike, the Bears on Tuesday revealed their 2026 Rivalries uniforms, which will be worn during their Christmas Day matchup with the Green Bay Packers. Go behind the scenes with Bears legends and current players at Nike's "Return of the Monsters" shoot in Chicago last month.
The Bears' Rivalries uniforms were designed to blend tradition and innovation, connect franchise legends with young talent carving their own paths and honor the franchise's rich history.
In order to launch such carefully-crafted uniforms properly, Nike wove all of those elements into their photo and video shoot, which featured three Hall of Famers — Super Bowl XX champion Mike Singletary, 2006 NFC champion Devin Hester and legendary linebacker Brian Urlacher — as well as current Bears running backs D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, who debuted as a duo in 2025 and were the only pair of RBs in the NFL to each amass at least 750 yards.
Nike teamed up with the creative studio Some Days for the video piece – a classic Chicago garage hangout scene that takes place on the city's northwest side in an alleyway of a local family's home. The backyard garage was staged as a Bears fan den with simple pieces of team memorabilia and nostalgic furniture.
On shoot day, each of the talent went through a quick hair-and-makeup station in the kitchen of the main house before heading to the basement for wardrobe.
Both the stitched Rivalries jerseys and the Nike sideline apparel collection were featured in the wardrobe selections.
Swift and Monangai donned both the jerseys and more casual, streetwear looks. Singletary and Urlacher wore classic navy-and-white outfits, with a jacket and hat, respectively, from the new collection, while Hester wore an orange windbreaker featuring "Monsters of the Midway" on the front pocket.
The group first posed for a few still photos in their attire with various backgrounds. Monangai posed against the chipped white garage door in the navy jersey featuring orange numbers, with a pastel-colored blue and orange flannel to match.
Singletary and Urlacher appeared together with their backs to the long alleyway, showcasing the traditional Chicago landscape.
"We wanted to find a spot that felt truly Chicago," Reinmouth said, "like the right alleyway, that felt like it could be anyone's garage, it could be anyone's alley, that true Chicagoans just know."
Hester posed up against the back wall of the Bear den in the garage wearing both the orange windbreaker as well as quarterback Caleb Williams' No. 18 jersey.
Then came the main video shoot. The scene begins on the alley side of the garage, where Monangai is first seen walking toward the den before waving to a familiar face.
That familiar face is Urlacher, who is positioned at a grill with tongs in his right hand, flipping burgers, hot dogs and sausages while waving to Monangai.
In the den, Singletary reclines on a chair closest to the open garage door while Swift is settled in on the couch next to him. As Monangai walks into the room, he daps up Singletary and Swift before taking a seat on the opposite reclining chair.
As the trio gets to chatting, the final guest comes walking down the stairs. With a bowl of chips in hand and a beaming smile, Hester joins the group, sitting next to Swift on the couch, looking ready to watch some football.
For Nike, the goal of this scene was for it to feel simple and homey, yet pointed directly at the Chicago community. The creative team achieved that goal by sourcing real memorabilia from fans and community members.
Some of the most notable pieces included a flag that once flew outside Halas Hall, an old-school helmet, a glass-encased football, and the ultimate easter egg: a pair of signed, game-worn Urlacher cleats.
"I walked in and saw the cleats, and I was like, 'Hey, where'd you get these from?'" Urlacher said. "I was like, 'Those were my shoes from 2010.' I had signed them already. The thing is, I would wear a new pair of shoes every game. I remember T-Med (director of equipment Tony Medlin) would put a new pair in my locker before every game. I'd wear them in the game, then at practice the next week, I'd retire them. So it was pretty cool to see those here."
The beauty of the set design was that in between takes or scenes, the group of players took the time to have genuine conversations, catch up and talk ball.
For Singletary, those quick chats about Swift's Philly upbringing or debates with Monangai about the best East Coast pizza spots are reminders of his time in the Bears' locker room.
"It's almost like a high school reunion," Singletary said. "There is a bond there. Even though some of the guys you don't know as well, they fall into a familiar category.
"When I'm talking to Devin, I'm talking to Dave Duerson or Todd Bell. If I'm talking to Kyle, I'm talking to Calvin Thomas. So every one of them, they remind you of somebody. They fall immediately into another line of guys that remind you of somebody or act like somebody. So it's fun to be around them."
For fellow Hall of Famers like Urlacher and Hester, spending moments with a legend like Singletary, whom they looked up to during their time in Chicago, is priceless.
"It's always a great opportunity whenever you get a chance to see retired players as well as current players that are mixed in the same room," Hester said. "You always look at it as a brotherhood, a family thing.
"Mike Singletary, he's the oldest one. The tradition that he had with '85 Bears – I remember coming in as a rookie. We were always seeing highlights of how they played, and him always talking and being that type of leader. There's so much respect when he's in the room."
From the perspectives of Swift and Monangai, the newer inductees to the Bears family, sharing the room with two generations of NFL greats, all of whom understand what it takes to get where the pair ultimately want to go, feels like an honor.
"The Hall of Famers — just to be around the type of caliber men and football players is something you shouldn't take lightly," Swift said. "It's great company to be around and be a part of, so to be able to do something cool like this with them involved is amazing."
The goal of the overarching Nike Rivalries program is to work with each team to highlight local community history as well as their respective rivalries. When it comes to the Bears, the NFL's charter franchise, their rivalry with the Packers is rooted not just in their own history, but in the league's history. It's a type of rivalry that never fades for those involved.
"Those games mean more because they've been around for a while," Hester. "This type of rivalry with the Packers and us, it feels like it started back in the Flintstones days. So that legacy and that tradition is just going to keep carrying on."
That storied rivalry hit another peak last season in the wild card round of the playoffs when the Bears beat the Packers in a thrilling 31-27 comeback victory at Soldier Field — a game that allowed Swift and Monangai to etch their names in the rivalry's history books.
In fitting fashion, when the Bears host the Packers on Christmas Day this season, they'll do so clad in their Nike Rivalries threads.
"Nothing that's understood has to be explained," Monangai said. "We know what it is with them. They know what it is with us. The history is there. The fans are in it. The city is in it. We're in it. So, it's just one of those games where we know it means more, it carries a lot more weight and the energy is always at its highest level."
