Chicago Bears Legend Dead At 68

Matt Suhey died in his sleep Saturday night September 6 at the age of 68. NBC Chicago confirmed the death. No cause was given.

Suhey was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round in 1980 out of Penn State, a Bellefonte, Pennsylvania kid who went on to spend his entire 10-year NFL career in Chicago, appearing in 140 games from 1980 to 1989.

He was a fullback in the truest sense, a man who cleared paths so that other people could be celebrated. The other people, in his case, was Walter Payton.

Their relationship was one of the NFL's great friendships. Suhey led the blocking for Payton across their years together and the two became inseparable off the field as well, teammates who knew what the other was thinking before the play was called, friends who stayed close long after the game was over.

Connie Payton said of Suhey: "It was sort of like husband and wife where you just know what the other one's thinking. It made their chemistry on the field a lot easier." When Walter Payton died in November 1999, Suhey was by his side. He remained close to the Payton family for the rest of his life.

The 1985 Bears are the most celebrated team in Chicago sports history, 15-1 in the regular season, the Refrigerator Perry goal-line carries, the Super Bowl Shuffle, a defense so dominant it allowed just 10 points in a postseason shutout of the Giants and then 10 more in Super Bowl XX against the New England Patriots.

Suhey's contribution to that Super Bowl was concrete: he scored the first touchdown of the game, an 11-yard run in the first quarter that opened the floodgates. The Bears won 46-10.

He was named to the 100 Greatest Bears of All-Time and was chosen as Jimbo Covert's presenter at the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in 2024. He is survived by his family.

The 1985 Bears have now lost several members of that title team in recent years, Payton in 1999, Mike Ditka survived a heart scare in 2024, and Steve McMichael died from ALS in April 2025.