When you talk about the larger-than-life characters who’ve graced both the gridiron and the wrestling ring, Steve “Mongo” McMichael is the kind of name that barrels into the conversation without asking permission. A Texas-born behemoth with a wild streak and the heart of a warrior, Mongo was every bit the brawler, whether he was smashing offensive lines in the NFL or suplexing opponents in a WCW ring.
By the time of his death in April 2025, Steve McMichael had amassed a fortune of $3 million, a modest figure considering his colorful, high-profile career, but one that reflects a life lived without half-measures.
Inside Steve “Mongo” McMichael’s $3 Million Net Worth in 2025
Born on October 17, 1957, in Houston, Texas, Steve’s early life already read like the script for a sports movie. His parents split when he was still in diapers, and he was later adopted by his stepfather, E.V. McMichael, whose name he carried for the rest of his life. At Freer High School, Steve was a one-man sports department. He lettered in six sports—football, baseball, basketball, track, tennis, and golf—and even flirted with a pro baseball career after batting .450 as a senior catcher. Offers from the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds came knocking, but Steve had other plans.
He took his talents to the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a force on the Longhorns’ defensive line from 1976 to 1979. By his senior year, he was a consensus All-American and the MVP of the Hula Bowl. The NFL came calling in 1980 when the New England Patriots picked him in the third round. But Boston wasn’t Mongo’s kind of town. The Patriots cut him after just one season. That mistake turned out to be a jackpot for Chicago.
In 1981, the Chicago Bears scooped him up, and what followed was 13 years of pure, unfiltered chaos on the football field. He played in a franchise-record 191 consecutive games, anchoring Buddy Ryan’s punishing 46 defense and helping carry the Bears to their historic 1985 Super Bowl victory. He racked up 95 sacks—still fourth all-time among defensive tackles—and 847 tackles across his NFL career. Mongo was a two-time Pro Bowler and earned First-Team All-Pro honors in both 1985 and 1987. He was more than just a stat machine though. McMichael was pure electricity, part of a legendary D-line that featured Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, and William “The Refrigerator” Perry.
When the Bears let him go after the 1993 season, he gave it one more year with their archrival, the Green Bay Packers, starting 14 games in 1994. Even that late-career stint didn’t dim his shine. He was still the same smack-talking, fire-breathing defensive lineman who could turn a fumble recovery into a game-swinging highlight. Once the shoulder pads came off for good, Mongo didn’t ride quietly into retirement.
Instead, he jumped headfirst into pro wrestling. He debuted with WCW in 1995 as a commentator, but soon swapped the mic for tights. By 1996, he was mixing it up in the ring, joining the iconic Four Horsemen stable alongside Ric Flair. He even won the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship in 1997. Between storylines, feuds with Reggie White and Kevin Greene, and occasional wild matches that involved real bruises and fake storylines, Mongo carved out a surprisingly successful second act.
Money-wise, McMichael’s wrestling years helped pad his bank account, but he never became a mega-earner in the vein of his NFL or WWE contemporaries. His $3 million net worth was a product of NFL contracts from the ’80s and early ’90s (before the money exploded), WCW paychecks, and a string of gigs that included sports radio, pregame shows on ESPN 1000, and coaching the Chicago Slaughter indoor football team from 2007 to 2013. He even ran for mayor of Romeoville, Illinois, in 2013, though he lost that race.
The NFL is heartbroken to hear of the passing of Super Bowl champion and Hall of Famer Steve McMichael after a brave battle with ALS.
Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/ENXTqfoqQk
— NFL (@NFL) April 23, 2025
Sadly, in January 2021, Steve was diagnosed with ALS, a brutal disease that slowly took away his ability to move, talk, and eventually breathe. He fought it as you’d expect from Mongo—with grit and heart. He was honored with the ALS Courage Award in September 2021 and finally, in February 2024, the Pro Football Hall of Fame came calling. Though too ill to attend the ceremony in Canton, Steve received his gold jacket and bust at home in Homer Glen, Illinois, surrounded by his wife Misty, daughter Macy, and a who’s who of Bears legends.
He passed away on April 23, 2025, at the age of 67, just hours after being moved into hospice care in Joliet. His death hit Chicago hard. The Ironman of the Bears was gone, leaving behind not just a legacy of toughness but a life that defied convention at every turn. A wild man on and off the field, Steve McMichael earned every cent of his $3 million the hard way—through grit, sweat, and enough personality to fill Soldier Field twice over.
