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Bulls land 4th pick, Bears rookie minicamp takeaways | Chicago Sports Tonight
On this Mother's Day Edition of Chicago Sports Tonight, the ping pong balls finally bounced the Chicago Bulls' way, landing them a top-4 pick in the NBA Draft for the first time since 2020. The Score's Chris Emma and ESPN Chicago's Pat the Designer join Tina Nguyen to break down what this moment means for the future of the franchise - and who the Bulls should target with the No. 4 & No. 15 overall picks in a loaded 2026 draft class. Plus, the Chicago Bears Rookie Minicamp is in the books, and the crew recaps the weekend and their biggest takeaways. And on the diamond, things are starting to turn on the Southside as the White Sox win another series, while the Cubs offense goes ice cold after getting shut out in back-to-back games in Texas
The Chicago Bears were thought to be going back overseas in the 2026 NFL season.
There was speculation, dating back to February at the NFL Combine, that the Bears would be announced as the road team in the second game the league has hosted in Spain.
The league announced the Falcons as the home team first. On Tuesday, the league announced Atlanta's opponent. It won't be the Bears.
What we know:
The NFL is going international in a massive way in the 2026 season. So far, they have scheduled the following international games:
- One game in Melbourne, Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
- One game in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil at the Maracanã Stadium
- One game in Munich, Germany at FC Bayern Munich Arena
- One game in Mexico City, Mexico at Estadio Banorte
- Three games in London.
- One game in Madrid, Spain at the Bernabéu Stadium.
The Bears were one of the few teams who could have been playing in Spain. On Tuesday, the league announced the Bengals would travel to Spain and play the Falcons.
That’s important because the Bears were the home team in that London game. As part of the NFL’s international guidelines, participating teams alternate between being the home team and the road team in international games. The Bears would have been the road team had they been selected to play in Spain.
This meant the Bears would have had nine home games and one of their road games would have been on a neutral site overseas.
The first game in Spain played just last season in Nov. 2025 when the Dolphins beat the Commanders in overtime.
Big picture view:
The Chicago Bears are one of the biggest brands in the NFL.
It was announced on Feb. 2 the NFL would officially return to Spain. The NFL gave the Bears, Kansas City Chiefs and Dolphins marketing rights in Spain as part of the league's Global Markets Program. This initiative awarded NFL clubs marketing rights outside of the U.S. to grow a team’s brand and fan base through "fan engagement, events and commercial opportunities."
This makes sense considering how the Bears showed up in the 2024 season.
The Bears last played overseas in Oct. 2024, when they beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in London in a game where Caleb Williams threw three touchdowns and Cole Kmet won NFC special teams player of the week, filling in as the backup long snapper.
"It is an honor and a privilege for Real Madrid to host the NFL once again at the Bernabéu stadium," Real Madrid Director of Institutional Relations Emilio Butragueño said in a written statement. "We experienced a historic first NFL Madrid game a few months ago, and this new agreement will allow the alliance between our club, the Community of Madrid, the City Council and the NFL to continue, strengthening the image of our capital and the Spanish brand around the world. The transformation of the Bernabéu stadium is a major boost for sport to continue to be a unifying force for millions of fans across all continents."