Matt Suhey, the Chicago Bears fullback who scored the first touchdown in the franchise's only Super Bowl victory and spent a decade as Walter Payton's lead blocker and closest friend, died in his sleep over Labor Day weekend at 68.
Suhey passed away Saturday night, the New York Post reported. No cause of death has been given. Former teammates said the news hit them without warning, a sudden loss of one of the steadiest men the 1985 Bears ever suited up.
Dan Hampton, the Hall of Fame defensive tackle who played alongside Suhey for a decade in Chicago, learned of the death Sunday evening. His first reaction was blunt: "I am shocked." Hampton had seen Suhey just last year at the Super Bowl XX team's 40th anniversary gathering. Nothing seemed wrong.
Suhey arrived in the NFL as a second-round draft choice out of Penn State in 1980 and never wore another uniform. Across 10 seasons, 148 games, and 100 starts, he rushed for 2,946 yards and 20 touchdowns while catching 260 passes for 2,113 yards and five more scores. In seven of those 10 years, he did not miss a single regular-season game.
The stat line alone undersells the man. Suhey's primary job was clearing a path for Payton, the Hall of Fame running back who retired in 1987 as the NFL's all-time leading rusher. It was unglamorous, punishing work, and Suhey did it better than almost anyone in the league.
Hampton, speaking to the Daily Herald, described Suhey in terms that had nothing to do with blocking assignments:
"Quality of character, there was no one superior to Matt. He was truly a gentleman. He wasn't like a bunch of the rest of us who were cutting up. He was, I don't want to say more adult, but he was real responsible. He played around with Walter and everyone else but he wasn't a guy going out to the bar after the game. He was a businessman."
Gary Fencik, the safety on that dominant 1985 defense, offered a similar portrait. Fencik remembered Suhey as the emotional barometer of the Bears' offense, calm, reliable, and impossible to rattle.
"I kind of remember Matt as a level-headed guy. You could almost interpret how the offense felt by going through Matt. Just a real valuable teammate and one that, gosh, this was a real shock to all of us."
Suhey's signature game came on January 26, 1986, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. The Bears dismantled the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX, and Suhey was the man who put Chicago on the scoreboard first. He rushed for 52 yards that afternoon, a workmanlike total that fit the fullback's entire career: productive, physical, and overshadowed by bigger names.
That '85 Bears squad remains one of the most celebrated teams in NFL history. Suhey was not its loudest voice or its flashiest player. He was its backbone. The blocking back who made the machine run.
The bond between Suhey and Walter Payton extended far beyond the field. Payton was godfather to Suhey's son, Scott. When Payton died in 1999, Suhey stepped into a role no stat sheet could capture.
Jarrett Payton, Walter's son, made that debt plain. As AP News reported, Jarrett described Suhey as the most important father figure he had after losing his dad:
"After we lost my dad in 1999, Matt became the biggest father figure I had. When everything felt uncertain, he was there. My dad left him in charge and Matt never let that responsibility sit lightly."
That quote says more about Suhey's character than any career highlight reel. Payton entrusted his children to his fullback, and Suhey honored the trust for more than a quarter-century.
In a 1985 Chicago Tribune interview, Suhey himself spoke about what it meant to play alongside, and behind, the greatest running back of his era:
"How can anybody compare to him? Some may be faster, but nobody's stronger or better at all facets of the game. It might be nice to carry the ball more and see my name in the stats. But if Walter scores a touchdown, and I make a good block, that's the name of the game. He's a very good friend of mine. I enjoy his personality. You never know what to expect. On the field, you're always second to him. But he never makes you feel that way."
No bitterness. No ego. Just a man who understood his role and found genuine satisfaction in doing it well. That is rare in professional sports. It was apparently rare nowhere in Matt Suhey's life.
Details around Suhey's death remain sparse. He died in his sleep Saturday night during Labor Day weekend, Breitbart reported, confirming the same timeline carried by multiple outlets. No location has been disclosed. No cause of death has been announced. No formal family or team statement has surfaced in the initial reporting.
Hampton said he received the news Sunday evening. The shock was genuine. Suhey was 68, not young, but not old enough for his death to feel expected.
What remains is a career built on selflessness and a post-football life defined by loyalty. Suhey blocked for the best, raised his family, looked after his best friend's children, and never chased the spotlight. He showed up, did his job, and kept his word.
In an era that rewards self-promotion and punishes quiet competence, Matt Suhey's life is worth remembering, not just for what he did on the field, but for the kind of man he was when nobody was keeping score.
