The NFL’s 100th season is also the 100th season for the Chicago Bears franchise, and the team has released a listing of its 100 greatest players.
Ranked No. 1 on the list, which was undertaken by longtime Chicago NFL writers Dan Pompei and Don Pierson, is Walter Payton.
Payton played his entire NFL career for the Bears, who selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 1975 draft. He stayed with the Bears through 1987 and retired as the league’s all-time leading rusher. Payton, who died in 1999 at the age of 45, remains one of the most beloved players in NFL history.
Rounding out the Top 10 all-time Bears are Dick Butkus, Bronko Nagurski, Sid Luckman, Gale Sayers, Mike Ditka, Bill George, Bulldog Turner, Doug Atkins and Danny Fortmann. Khalil Mack, at No. 60, was the highest-ranking active player.
