Other ventures
Ditka has written or contributed to a number of books since 1986. He wrote Ditka: An Autobiography with friend and sports journalist Don Pierson; he authored The 85 Bears: We Were the Greatest with Rick Telander. He also wrote with Telander In Life First you Kick Ass: Reflections on the 1985 Bears and Wisdom from Da Coach.
Ditka has also been the subject of several books including Ditka: Monster of the Midway by Armen Keteyian and Ditka: The Player, the Coach, the Chicago Bears Legend which is a compilation of Chicago Tribune stories written about Ditka throughout the years. He is also a large topic in books written about the Bears as a team such as Then Ditka said to Payton and Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football.
In 1987, following the success of the Chicago Bears' charity single "The Super Bowl Shuffle", the video's producer Richard E. Meyer created a similar music video starring Ditka, titled "The Grabowski Shuffle." The video, about "working hard to get what you want", was inspired by a comment Ditka had made about his team's reputation: "There are Smiths and there are Grabowskis; we're the Grabowskis."
In 1991, Ditka cooperated with Accolade to produce the computer game Mike Ditka Ultimate Football and the Sega Mega Drive game Mike Ditka Power Football. In 1995, Ditka starred as a football coach in a full-motion video game called Quarterback Attack with Mike Ditka, released for the Sega Saturn, PC, and 3DO. Quarterback Attack was re-released for iTunes and Google Play in December 2016.
In 1993, Ditka appeared as himself in the 271st and final episode of the American television sitcom Cheers. Ditka also appeared as himself in the show According to Jim, in the 2002 episode "Cars & Chicks". Ditka has made guest appearances and cameos on several other shows, including L.A. Law, Saturday Night Live, and 3rd Rock from the Sun. In 2005, Ditka had a major role in the comedy Kicking & Screaming, playing himself; he was recruited by Will Ferrell's character to be an assistant little league soccer coach.
Ditka appeared in several ads for Montgomery Ward in the early 1990s, promoting their electronics and appliances department, known as Electric Avenue. Ditka also starred in ad for 'Big Shot' soda in 1997.
Ditka performed "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field in 1998, the first season after the death of Harry Caray, who had previously led the song. Chicago Now blogger Marcus Leshock derided the performance, dubbing Ditka "the worst 7th-inning singer in history."
Ditka was inducted to the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
In January 2007, Ditka used the Super Bowl return of the Chicago Bears as a platform to promote efforts by many early NFL players trying to raise support for former NFL players in need of money and medical assistance; he is a key member of the Gridiron Greats. Angry at the wealthy NFL for ignoring the players who helped to create the league, Ditka and other former players have since been attempting to raise funds, in the words of Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure, "for guys who made this league and built it on their backs, their knees, their legs and now they're all broken down and they can't even get a decent pension." Ultimately, however, in December 2007, Ditka folded his "Hall of Fame Assistance Trust Fund" charity amidst revelations that, "in 2005, the group gave out more money to pay celebrities to play golf than the group in its entire three years of operation gave out to injured players", according to Laurie Styron of the American Institute of Philanthropy. During Super Bowl XLIV, Ditka (who was not in the original group) joined other members of the 1985 Chicago Bears in resurrecting "The Super Bowl Shuffle" in a Boost Mobile commercial.
In the spring of 2007, Ditka worked alongside X Management and Geneva Hospitality to form Mike Ditka Resorts, currently consisting of two resorts in the Orlando, Florida, area. Ditka owns a chain of restaurants, "Ditka's", which has three locations in Illinois and one in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ditka discovered singer John Vincent, who has been performing at his Chicago restaurant since 2001. Vincent performs in 20 different voices and sings the National Anthem regularly for the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Ditka and Vincent also own a record label together.
Ditka was a co-owner the Chicago Rush, an Arena Football League team. In August 2011, media reports noted that Ditka would be a financial investor for the new Elite Football League of India, a proposed American football league that will be India's first.
In 2012, Ditka partnered with Terlato Wines to produce his own collection of wines, produced in California. The partnership stemmed from a 20-year friendship between Ditka and Bill Terlato and their shared love of sports and food and wine. The first Mike Ditka Wines were released in fall 2012, including eight labels highlighting his career: "The Player" (2011 Pinot Grigio and 2010 Merlot), "The Coach" (2011 Sauvignon Blanc and 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon), " The Hall of Famer" (2011 Chardonnay and 2011 Pinot Noir), and "The Restaurateur" pair which includes "The Icon" (2010 Cabernet Sauvignon) and "The Champion" (2010 Red Blend)." The same year, Ditka and Camacho Cigars partnered and produced a line of cigars called "The Mike Ditka Kickoff Series". These cigars are named to highlight the milestones of Coach Ditka's football career: "The Player", The Coach", and "The Hall of Famer". All of these cigars are produced in Honduras.
In 2013, Ditka and Vienna Beef partnered to create Ditka Sausages, which will be eight inches long and one-third pound in weight. The two types are "Hot Beef Polish Sausage" and "Chicken Sausage with Mozzarella and Sun-Dried Tomatoes".
Also in 2013, Ditka and former Bears quarterback Jim McMahon are featured in a new series of commercials for the online discount retailer Overstock.com.
In 2014, Ditka and Resultly partnered to feature his profile and product collections. Ditka's profile is featured on Resultly and he regularly interacts with users about the collections he creates of his favorite items from all over the web.
In 2015, Ditka did several television ads for McDonald's. He was seen wearing a Green Bay Packers sweater vest. Some would later question if Ditka "jinxed" the Packers, as their six-game undefeated streak halted to a three-game losing streak during the airing of the commercials (including a loss to the Bears on Thanksgiving, which was part of a three-game winning streak they were enjoying at the time). A follow-up commercial would show Ditka throwing the Packers sweater vest out the window and donning his more familiar Bears sweater vest once the contest was over. Just hours after the spot was aired, the Packers went on to beat the Vikings, ending the "curse".
