Ted Phillips facts for kids

Ted Phillips is an American businessman. He used to be the president and CEO of the Chicago Bears, a famous team in the National Football League (NFL). He was only the fourth person to hold this important job in the team's long history. Before him were Michael McCaskey, George Halas Jr., and the legendary "Papa Bear" George Halas. Ted Phillips also helped make important decisions for the NFL. He was part of two special committees that looked at how teams manage their money and their football games.

Early Life and Education

Ted Phillips was born on June 27, 1957. He grew up in Nashua, New Hampshire. He went to the University of Notre Dame. There, he earned a degree in business and accounting.

After college, from 1979 to 1983, he worked for a company called Ernst and Whinney. This company is now known as Ernst & Young. He worked as an auditor, checking financial records, and as a tax accountant. Ted Phillips has three sons named Matthew, Max, and Frank.

Working with the Chicago Bears

Ted Phillips started working for the Chicago Bears on September 28, 1983. His first job was the team's controller. This meant he helped manage the team's money. After about four years, he was promoted. He became the director of finance. In this role, he was in charge of the team's business operations. He also helped negotiate and sign contracts with the players.

While working for the Bears, he continued his education. He earned a master's degree in marketing and management. He got this degree from the Kellogg Graduate School at Northwestern University in 1989. In 1993, he became the vice president of operations. He held this position for six years.

Becoming President and CEO

The Chicago Bears team recognized Ted Phillips' hard work. They saw his efforts to improve the club. On February 10, 1999, Ted Phillips was named the chief executive officer and president of the Chicago Bears. He was only the fourth president in the team's history. He was also the first president who was not part of the Halas-McCaskey family.

Phillips made many important changes to the organization. In 2001, he hired Jerry Angelo as the team's general manager. He later extended Angelo's contract in 2003 and 2006. This helped create stability in the team's leadership. He also brought the Bears' summer training camp back to Illinois in 2002. Fans really liked this change. Over 10,000 people would often attend the camp. It was held at Olivet Nazarene University.

The value of the team grew a lot during his time. This meant ticket prices kept going up. However, in 2009, Phillips decided to freeze ticket prices. He did this because of the country's economic situation. Even with this decision, Phillips kept the Bears as one of the Top 10 Most Valuable NFL teams. By 2011, the team's value had grown to $1.09 billion.

He also voted against a new NFL rule. This rule would move kickoffs from the 30-yard line to the 35-yard line. Special Teams had always been a strong part of the Bears' game. However, the rule still passed.

Retirement from the Bears

Ted Phillips served as the team president for 24 years. During this time, the Bears made it to the playoffs six times. After the 2021 Chicago Bears season, his responsibilities changed. The team had fired their head coach, Matt Nagy, and general manager, Ryan Pace. Phillips would no longer oversee the general manager. Instead, the general manager would report directly to the chairman, George McCaskey.

On September 2, 2022, Ted Phillips announced his retirement. He retired from his role after the 2022 NFL season. The Bears announced that Kevin Warren would take over as president. Warren officially became president after the 2022 NFL season ended.

References

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