BEAR DOWN: The Bears Pro Shop, shown here at Soldier Field in 2021, is now operated by Fanatics after the retailer took over brick-and-mortar merchandise at the Chicago stadium. (Getty Images)
Bears switch retail vendors for first time in 21 years
Fanatics has taken over operations of the Chicago Bears Pro Shop at Soldier Field, according to sources familiar with the negotiations, as the big league merchandiser strengthens its grip as the NFL’s dominant brick-and-mortar provider.
Bears officials were not available for comment.
The terms of the deal are unclear at this point. Fanatics replaces Delaware North Sportservice, which ran in-venue retail for the Bears since 2003, the year Soldier Field reopened after a $600 million-plus renovation.
Sportservice and the Bears had signed a five-year renewal in 2018, which extended to training camp, NFL Draft parties and other official team functions.
Sources said Levy, which took over Soldier Field foodservice this summer after signing a 10-year deal with the Bears, made a strong pitch to take over merchandise as well through its Rank & Rally retail division before Fanatics was awarded the contract.
The switch in merchandise vendors effectively takes place on Saturday, the date of the Bears’ only 2024 home preseason game against Cincinnati. Chicago’s regular-season home opener is Sept. 8 against Tennessee, the first of eight home dates, concluding Dec. 26 against Seattle.
Soldier Field’s initial team store takes up about 2,800 square feet on the stadium’s north side. Two more team stores have been added over the past 20 years, including a Pro Shop measuring 3,510 square feet, which opened in 2010 inside Gate O on the venue’s south side.
I’M 18: Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams’ jersey is among the NFL’s top selling items. (AP Photo)
The agreement expands Fanatics’ relationship with the Bears seven years after the retailer took over the team’s online merchandise operation in 2017.
For Fanatics, the deal coincides with the surge in fan interest for one of the NFL’s charter franchises after the Bears drafted quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Williams broke the Fanatics record for draft night merchandise sales online for all draft picks across pro sports, ESPN reported. Adding to the excitement was that it marked the first time in 77 years (coincidentally, Bears and NFL pioneer Red Grange’s uniform number) that Chicago held the top draft pick.
Most recently, Williams’ No. 18 jersey is among the NFL’s top three sellers heading into the 2024 season, multiple websites have reported.
Last year, former Bears QB Justin Fields’ No. 1 jersey ranked 31st among the Top 50 NFL Player Sales List by the NFL Players Association, which the group states is the only verified ranking of all officially licensed league merchandise.
Fields, now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was the only Bears player on that list.
Fanatics now has brick-and-mortar deals with about 25 NFL teams, one-third of which are “omnichannel” agreements across multiple retail platforms.
In 2018, the NFL signed a 10-year deal with Fanatics, awarding the retailer with the exclusive consumer product licensing rights to manufacture and distribute all Nike adult NFL products.
