Ted Phillips

Ted Phillips (born June 27, 1957 ) is an American businessman and the former president and CEO of the National Football League's Chicago Bears. He was only the fourth president of the 100-year-old organization at the time of his hiring, with his predecessors being Michael McCaskey, George Halas Jr., and "Papa Bear" George Halas.

Early life and family Phillips was born in Oneida, New York and was raised in Nashua, New Hampshire. He graduated from The University of Notre Dame with an undergraduate degree in business and accounting. He worked for the accounting and consulting firm Ernst and Whinney, now known as Ernst & Young, as an auditor and tax accountant from 1979 to 1983.

Chicago Bears Phillips began his career with the organization on September 28, 1983, as the team's controller. In 1988, he was promoted to the director of finance and became responsible for the club's business operations and negotiating all player contracts. As of 2011, the team's value was estimated at $1.09 billion. Phillips voted against the new NFL rule to move up kickoffs, which had been held at the 30 yard line, to the 35-yard line, considering special teams have been a strong point for the Bears, but the rule passed.

In the 24 years Phillips acted as team president, the Bears made the playoffs six times. The Bears formally changed Phillips' responsibilities following the 2021 season, which saw the team fire head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace after a 6–11 finish. Phillips would no longer oversee the team's general manager, who would instead report directly to chairman George McCaskey. On September 2, 2022, Phillips announced he would retire from his role after the 2022 NFL season. The Bears announced Kevin Warren would succeed Phillips as president following the 2022 NFL season.