Nothing screams “Da Bears” more than Mike Ditka’s iconic Chicago Bears sweater-vest that he sported most notably in the team’s 46-10 clubbing of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 20. The sleeveless sweater Ditka wore in the Superdome during the Bears’ lone Super Bowl title sold for $183,000 on Saturday via auction through Goldin.
The size XXL sweater-vest features the word “BEARS” across the chest in white lettering, making the head coach’s affiliation to the team unmistakable. A letter of provenance signed by Ditka attesting to the item’s authenticity came with the vest. The Ditka-signed letter has been autograph-certified and encapsulated by Professional Sports Authenticator.
“It brings that moment back, and you know there’s many famous images. That’s an iconic, very visible sweater that a lot of people associate with (him) wearing,” said Dave Amerman, Goldin’s head of revenue. “Many, many images of him during that Super Bowl where you see this sweater. That is so unique. …
“It’s one of those pieces that you’re like, ‘No way!’”
A Super Bowl look that became legendary 🏈🐻
Mike Ditka’s coach-worn Bears sweater vest from Super Bowl XX. Signed by Ditka and accompanied by PSA/DNA authentication, Resolution LOO, and Ditka LOP.
Explore more iconic football items now in our January Elite Auction:… pic.twitter.com/IhdGBdd4oP
— Goldin (@GoldinCo) January 17, 2026
The famed “Saturday Night Live” segments featuring “Bill Swerski’s Super Fans” played by George Wendt, Chris Farley, Mike Myers and Robert Smigel often contained a character wearing a “Bears” sweater-vest. The vest continues to be worn by Bears fans to this day for games.
But how does Goldin run into the Bears sweater-vest? It basically fell into Goldin’s hands unexpectedly.
“This one came out of Chicago, a family in Chicago,” Amerman said. “We were in Chicago doing some business. We have a guy out there where there was an expo a couple months ago. The guy basically walked it in. He was friends with the (Ditka) family. He had all sorts of other items. We didn’t really know what to think. It’s hard. You know, not every day you see something like this walk in. But they had their mind made up on Goldin right from the beginning. They came right to Goldin and were ready to go. … The timing was great, but we spent months researching and making sure everything was good.”
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