One year after his death, former football star and pro wrestler Steve “Mongo” McMichael was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (“CTE”).
McMichael was a Super Bowl winner with the Chicago Bears in 1985 and transitioned to professional wrestling a decade later. He died last year at 67 following his battle with ALS.
Breaking: Chicago Bears legend Steve “Mongo” McMichael was diagnosed with stage 3 CTE by researchers at @bu_cte. He was a key member of the Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl championship team and a Pro Football Hall of Famer. Mongo died in April 2025 after a nearly 5-year public battle with… pic.twitter.com/hbLhHtOyOf
— Concussion & CTE Foundation (@ConcussionCTEfn) April 7, 2026
His brain was donated to the Concussion & CTE Foundation, which revealed its findings and contained CTE in the brain, an ailment that cannot be detected while alive.
From ESPN in its coverage of the findings:
According to a 2021 study by the Harvard Medical School and the Boston University CTE Center, NFL players are more than four times more likely to develop ALS than other men. Dr. Ann McKee, director of the Boston University CTE Center, said about 6% of individuals with CTE in the brain bank also have ALS.
McMichael moved from football into professional wrestling, appearing in Lawrence Taylor’s corner at WrestleMania 11 in 1995, but then signed with WCW. He started as a member of the inaugural broadcast team on Monday Nitro that year before turning on Randy Savage and joining the Four Horsemen in 1996.
He was diagnosed with ALS in 2021 and moved into hospice care last April.
