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Mike Ditka's final season as a player for the Chicago Bears was in 1966. His last season as their coach was 1992. So why did it take 47 years after his departure as a player, and 21 years after his final season as the coach, to retire the number of o...

We're Black and Blue All Over: Thursday, we broached the topic of whether the Chicago Bears would retire the number of middle linebacker Brian Urlacher. As it turns out, the team is dealing with a backlog on that issue. Almost a half-century af...

The Chicago Bears will retire Mike Ditka's No. 89 on Dec. 9 during halftime of their Monday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field, the team announced Friday. Read entire story....

The Chicago Bears will retire Mike Ditka's No. 89 on Dec. 9 during halftime of their Monday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field, the team announced Friday.

Mike Ditka tells the guys about the Bears' decision to retire his number and more. • ESPN NFL analyst Mike Ditka confirms that his number will be retired by the Bears. Ditka also discusses his relationship with Chicago, Brian Urlacher's retir...

We're Black and Blue All Over: Now that we've dissected Brian Urlacher's retirement and assessed his chances at enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, we should ask the next question: Will the Bears retire his No. 54? That issue might b...

Aaron Rodgers said Wednesday that it's time for the "healing process to begin" between the Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre, adding that he hopes the quarterback's No. 4 can be retired by the team before he is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Bears will miss Brian Urlacher, but history shows there will be another for the linebacker-blessed franchise.

IRVING, Texas - Among the reasons why Brian Urlacher decided to retire was the fact that he could say he played for the Chicago Bears and for the Chicago Bears only. In this salary-cap age, that is a difficult thing to do. Emmitt Smith's playing c...

To get his life in order, Rolando McClain is right to retire from the NFL at the age of 23, writes Jeffri Chadiha.

This is a statement issued by linebacker Rolando McClain to explain why he decided to retire Wednesday: "Clearly, my decision to retire has raised some questions. Quite simply, I love football, but I have decided at this time it is in my best inte...

Linebacker Rolando McClain has told the Baltimore Ravens that he's retiring from the NFL.

If nothing else, that Donovan McNabb wants to retire as an Eagle should serve as definitive proof that "rivalries" in the NFL are a complete crock. McNabb's retirement doesn't represent some kind of cathartic grant of forgiveness on either side. Comi...

Quarterback Mark Sanchez was just one of the many New York Jets stunned to hear that 35-year-old David Garrard decided to retire Wednesday due to a knee that wasn't up to the rigors of a 16-game season anymore.

Middle linebacker Rolando McClain is retiring from the NFL at the age of 23, less than a month after signing a one-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens, general manager Ozzie Newsome announced Wednesday.

One of the day's news stories is that former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb is going to retire as an Eagle, and it sounds as though the team is planning to honor him at one of its home games in 2013. Obviously, this is the right thing...