The Chicago Bears are enjoying a successful 2025 season (to this point). Their first in seven years. However, many in the organization can't afford to stay focused on what's happening now. They must keep their eyes on the future. One of them is team president Kevin Warren. His job is always to seek ways to make the Bears a more profitable and successful brand. Right now, most of that involves getting the new stadium off the ground, which hasn't happened yet. However, that might not be the only angle Warren is taking.
The Bears announced a new hire for their front office this week. His name is Matt O'Brien. He won't be joining the personnel department. Fans might immediately shrug that off and stop paying attention. While understandable, it's worth noting his job title: Senior Vice President of Global Commercial Revenue. O'Brien comes over from the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers and Rock Entertainment Group. His experience working in those places provides a clear indication of what might await the Bears in 2026.
An international game.
O'Brien has accumulated over 30 years of experience in the professional sports industry. Joining the Cavaliers in 2013 as Vice President of Corporate Partnership Development, O'Brien steadily advanced to lead commercial partnerships spanning the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, AHL's Cleveland Monsters, NBA G League's Cleveland Charge and Rocket Arena. After five years, he went to work overseas at National Basketball League (NBL) in Australia as Chief Commercial Officer, then came back home serving as SVP, Development at Notre Dame Global Partnerships, benefitting the University of Notre Dame. Returning to Cleveland in 2020, O'Brien rejoined the operation as SVP, Global Partnerships, advancing to SVP, Chief Partnerships Officer in 2024.
O'Brien's responsibilities increased and expanded into the broader Rock Entertainment Group, where he also played a significant role in global partnership strategies for wider sports and entertainment properties.
The Chicago Bears will likely be entering a new international market.
As of now, all of their jaunts overseas have been to the United Kingdom. Their most recent was a showdown with Jacksonville in London. Adding O'Brien suggests that won't be the case this time. They will be going somewhere else. To date, the NFL has expanded into Ireland, Germany, Brazil, and, most recently, Spain. Remember that the NFL announced some time ago that every NFL team was granted marketing rights to certain international zones. For the Chicago Bears, it was two. One was the UK, and the other was Spain.
It isn't hard to connect the dots after that. The NBA has significant inroads with the Spanish sports scene. It is one of the biggest basketball hotbeds in the world. That would mean O'Brien has experience dealing with various businesspeople in the country. If the Bears are going to play a game in Madrid next year, it makes perfect sense to hire somebody who can guide their marketing approach.
