If you’ve driven anywhere near Chicago in the last decade, you’ve seen it. That piercing stare. The Hall of Fame smirk. And, most importantly, the hair. The Brian Urlacher hair billboard has become as much a part of the Illinois landscape as the Willis Tower or deep-dish pizza. It’s unavoidable. It’s legendary.
Honestly, it’s a bit of a phenomenon. For thirteen seasons, Brian Urlacher was the face of the Chicago Bears, and that face was famously, predictably bald. Then, in 2016, he emerged from retirement with a full head of hair and a marketing campaign that would eventually cover every highway from Indiana to the Wisconsin border.
The Day the World Saw the Hair
It happened on a Tuesday. January 5, 2016. Urlacher appeared on WGN-TV and Good Morning America looking... different. The man who had terrorized quarterbacks with a smooth cranium for over a decade suddenly had a thick, salt-and-pepper mane.
The internet basically melted. "Brian Urlacher has hair" trended at number one on Twitter. People couldn't believe it. It felt like seeing a unicorn, or a kicker who never misses.
"I was really used to me being bald as well," Urlacher told reporters at the time. "It was a big jump for me to do this procedure."
That jump led to an endorsement deal with RESTORE Hair, a Chicago-based hair restoration company. They didn't just put up a few posters. They saturated the market. If you’re on I-294, I-55, or I-90, you aren't just driving; you're traveling the "Hairway." Some commuters have counted upwards of 17 billboards in a single nine-mile stretch.
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What Actually Happened to His Head?
A lot of people think he just got lucky or used some magic cream. Nope. It was a medical procedure called FUE (Follicular Unit Excision).
Specifically, he underwent the RESTORE No-Shave FUE. Most hair transplants involve taking a strip of skin from the back of the head (the "strip" method), which leaves a nasty linear scar. That wouldn't work for a guy like Brian who might want to buzz his head again. FUE is different. They take individual follicles—about 4,000 of them in Urlacher’s case—from the back where hair is thick and move them to the front.
It’s a long day. You sit in a chair, watch movies, eat lunch, and let a doctor meticulously "plant" your new hairline. Urlacher reportedly flew to go golfing the very next day.
Why the Billboard Works (and Why It Annoys You)
Marketing experts call this "over-saturation," but for RESTORE, it was a stroke of genius. Most men are private about hair loss. They hide it with hats or just shave it off and pretend they don't care. Urlacher did the opposite. He put his new hairline on a 48-foot-wide piece of vinyl for everyone to judge.
It normalized the conversation.
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If a 6'4", 260-pound middle linebacker who used to knock people into next week can admit he wanted hair, then the average guy in a cubicle feels a lot less "vain" for wanting the same thing.
Of course, not everyone loves the 24/7 visual. Reddit threads are packed with Chicagoans asking, "Does he get residuals for these?" or "Am I the only one tired of seeing 54's hair?" There’s even a billboard featuring him in a fedora—which has its own cult following of trolls and fans alike.
The Real Cost of the "Urlacher Look"
Seeing the Brian Urlacher hair billboard usually leads to one question: "How much did that cost?"
It's not cheap. While the company offers financing for as low as $138 a month, a full-scale FUE procedure typically ranges from $4,000 to $15,000 depending on how much "real estate" needs covering. Most clinics charge "per graft," usually between $3 and $8. If you need 4,000 grafts like the Big Cat did, you’re looking at a significant investment.
But for the company, the investment paid off. They've since signed other legends like Ryne Sandberg, Eddie Olczyk, and Deion Sanders. It’s a roster of champions who all decided they were tired of the "Michael Jordan look."
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A Change in the "Shaved Head" Culture
Back in the 90s, everyone wanted to be like Mike. Shaving your head was the cool thing to do if you were thinning. Urlacher actually started losing his hair in college and just buzzed it because it was "convenient" for football.
"I didn't have to worry about messing up my hair when taking my helmet off," he said.
But retirement changes things. You're not in a helmet anymore. You're at the golf course, on TV, or at your kids' school events. The billboard represents a shift in how men view aging. It’s no longer about "accepting your fate." It’s about maintenance.
Is It Still a "Sign" for You?
The RESTORE billboards often use the cheeky tagline, "THIS IS A SIGN." It’s literal, obviously. But for thousands of men who have booked consultations after sitting in Chicago traffic, it’s a bit more than that.
Whether you find the endless sea of Urlacher faces inspiring or a total eyesore, you can't deny the impact. He took a taboo subject and plastered it on the side of the highway. He didn't just get his hair back; he changed the way we talk about male vanity in the Midwest.
If you're actually considering following in number 54's footsteps, here is what you need to know before you call:
- Consultations are usually free: Most places (including the one on the billboard) will give you a quote and a 3D preview of what you’d look like.
- Check the technique: Always ask if they do "No-Shave" FUE. If they want to shave your whole head for the surgery, you’ll have a "tell" for several weeks.
- The 12-Month Rule: Don't expect a full mane in a month. New hair usually starts showing at month four, but you won't see the "billboard results" until a full year after the procedure.
- Look for the scar: If you like to keep your hair short, avoid "Strip/FUT" surgery. FUE is the only way to avoid the horizontal scar on the back of your head.
Urlacher’s hair might be the most famous comeback in Chicago sports history. It’s certainly the longest-running. And as long as the I-294 exists, we’ll probably be seeing that hairline for a long, long time.