Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1954 – November 1, 1999) was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. Walter Payton was known around the NFL as "Sweetness". He is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in the history of American football. Payton, a nine-time Pro Bowl selectee, once held the league's record for most career rushing yards, touchdowns, carries, yards from scrimmage, all-purpose yards, and many other categories. He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. Hall of Fame NFL player and coach Mike Ditka described Payton as the greatest football player he had ever seen—but even greater as a human being.

Payton began his football career in Mississippi, and went on to have an outstanding collegiate football career at Jackson State University where he was an All-American. He started his professional career with the Bears in 1975, who selected him as the 1975 Draft's fourth overall pick. Payton proceeded to win two NFL Most Valuable Player Awards and won Super Bowl XX with the 1985 Chicago Bears. After struggling with the rare liver disease primary sclerosing cholangitis for several months, Payton died on November 1, 1999, aged 45, from cholangiocarcinoma. His legacy includes the Walter Payton Award, the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, and a heightened awareness of the need for organ donations.

Louis Brian Piccolo (October 31, 1943 – June 16, 1970) was a professional football player for the Chicago Bears for four years. He died from embryonal cell carcinoma, an aggressive form of germ cell testicular cancer, first diagnosed after it had spread to his chest cavity. He was the subject of the 1971 TV movie Brian's Song, with a remake (of the same title) TV movie filmed in 2001. Piccolo was portrayed in the original film by James Caan and by Sean Maher in the 2001 remake.

Brian Piccolo – the youngest of three sons – was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts to Joseph and Irene (1909-2011) Piccolo. The family moved south to Fort Lauderdale, Florida when Piccolo was twelve, due to his parents' concerns for his brother Don's health. Piccolo and his brothers were athletes and Brian Piccolo was a star running back on his high school football team, but considered baseball his primary sport.^{[citation needed]} He graduated from the former Central Catholic High School (now St. Thomas Aquinas High School) in Fort Lauderdale in 1961.

Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. (born October 18, 1939) is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head coach. Ditka was the only individual to participate in both of the last two Chicago Bears' championships, as a player in 1963 and as head coach in 1985.

Ditka was born as Michael Dyczko in the Pittsburgh-area town of Carnegie, Pennsylvania on October 18, 1939. The oldest child of Mike Sr. and Charlotte, he grew up in nearby Aliquippa, Pennsylvania with siblings Ashton, David, and Mary Ann. Mike Sr., a welder, was one of three brothers of a Ukrainian family in the coal mining and steel manufacturing area in Western Pennsylvania. The surname "Dyczko" was difficult to pronounce in his hometown, so the family name was changed to "Ditka." Ditka attended St. Titus School.

A three-sport star at Aliquippa High School, Ditka hoped to escape his hometown's manufacturing jobs by attending college with a football scholarship. Planning to become a dentist, he was recruited by Notre Dame, Penn State, and University of Pittsburgh. Ditka played for the University of Pittsburgh from 1958–1960, where he also became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He started all three seasons and is widely considered one of the best tight ends in college football history. In addition to playing tight end, he also served as the team's punter. He led the team in receiving in all three of his seasons with them and was a first team selection on the College Football All-America Team in his senior year. In 1986, he was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Deion Luwynn Sanders (pronounced /ˈdiːɒn/; born August 9, 1967), nicknamed "Prime Time" and "Neon Deion", is a former National Football League cornerback and Major League Baseball outfielder who currently works as an NFL Network analyst. He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 6, 2011.

Sanders is considered one of the most versatile athletes in sporting history because he played two sports at multiple positions. In the NFL, he played primarily at cornerback, but also occasionally as a running back, wide receiver, kick returner, and punt returner. He played for the Atlanta Falcons, the San Francisco 49ers, the Dallas Cowboys, the Washington Redskins, and the Baltimore Ravens, winning the Super Bowl with both the 49ers and the Cowboys. In baseball, he played for the New York Yankees, the Atlanta Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, and the San Francisco Giants. He attended Florida State University, where he excelled at both football and baseball.

Sanders was born in Fort Myers, Florida. He attended North Fort Myers High School in North Fort Myers, Florida, and was a letterman and credited All-State in football, basketball, and baseball. He was an All-State honoree in all three sports. In 1985, Sanders was named to the Florida High School Association All-Century Team which selected the Top 33 players in the 100 year history of high school football in the state of Florida.

Desmond Demond "Dez" Bryant (born November 4, 1988) is an American football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cowboys in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma State.

Bryant was born in Lufkin, Texas. He attended Lufkin High School. As a senior he was a member of the Texas Football Super Team first-team and was an All-state selection after recording 53 receptions for 1,207 yards with 21 touchdowns.

Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Bryant was listed as the No. 9 wide receiver prospect in the class of 2007.

Bryant chose to play college football at Oklahoma State over LSU, Nebraska, and Arkansas.

As a freshman in 2007 he finished second on the team with 43 receptions for 622 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games. In a game against Kansas he set an OSU record for receiving yards in a game by a freshman with 155. Bryant had a great performance in the 2007 Insight Bowl, recording nine receptions for 117 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-33 win against the Indiana Hoosiers.