One question has persisted for years among Chicago Bears fans. Will the McCaskeys ever consider selling the franchise? It has been a constant belief that this family is incapable of running a professional football franchise. Since taking over in 1983 following the death of George Halas, they have run a once-regular contender into the ground. They have only two deep playoff runs since the start of the 1990s. The past decade has seen them post just one winning season. Fans are tired of the ineptitude and dysfunction. It feels like only new ownership can save this organization.
While Virginia McCaskey remains the primary owner of the Bears, many have wondered what happens once the 101-year-old dies. While there is a succession plan that would put her son George in control, reports indicate many of the younger generation in the family want to sell the team. Jim O’Donnell of the Daily Herald reported this in 2021.
The most striking reply came from an individual with exceptional knowledge of the working dynamic within the McCaskey family.
That person said: “There is some internal strife going on among family members to sell … now.”
So one can imagine it was fascinating when betting odds dropped, revealing that Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos is the favorite to purchase the Bears at some point soon.
The Chicago Bears are stuck in the past.
They’ve tried modernizing for years, but it’s apparent the McCaskey family doesn’t have the business or football acumen to run the ship like true professionals. This is why they keep running through GMs and head coaches every three to four years. Bezos is rated as the second-richest man in the world. The founder of the tech giant Amazon is worth $229 billion. He has more than enough capital to purchase the Bears, who are valued at around $6.4 billion. It is also not a secret that Bezos has tried entering the NFL arena for years. He attempted to purchase stakes in the Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos.
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Both fell through, but Bezos still managed to strike a media deal with the league that sees his Amazon Prime platform showcase Thursday Night Football. His foot is squarely in the door now. The next obvious step would be purchasing a team. The Chicago Bears are a founding franchise in a massive market with a huge fanbase. If making money is his goal, this team makes too much sense. Whether he can pull it off is another story. Minority investors with the Bears, like Pat Ryan, have the right to first refusal on any sale of shares in the organization. That means he would have to sign off on any sale.
A lot needs to happen.
@Barry Did you ever see the old film, Portnoy’s Complaint? I think David would be good in that role.
This is what a qualified person said during discussion of a possible Bears sale last season.
Virginia is the primary owner and she will never sell. But her shares will be split among the family upon her passing. This means that the guy who wants to keep the bears in family (George) would be forced to sell because the current minority side of and the group that wants to sell against Virginias wishes would become the majority.
I’m not familiar with Jeff Bezos’ interests but he certainly has the money to buy the Bears if the club was for sale. I think a sale would be a good thing however it probably is very difficult for Virginia Halas Mccaskey to part ways with her father’s team. Maybe George McCaskey would consider a sale after she passes on. But I’d like to see the next owner turn control of the team to a qualified President and GM rather than being like the owners who interfere with their decisions and hinder the team’s success.
@TWTY: Well, it looks like you are talking about economics without understanding economics. But, for what it’s worth, Elon Musk has already stated, himself, in no uncertain terms, that the government efficiency office he plans to run will have negative effects on the economy. Look it up. If that isn’t a good enough source for you, well, then I don’t know what would be. That said, this isn’t the appropriate forum for a discussion of politics or economics. I strongly urge you to get to one of those and learn the basics of economics. It will make you a much… Read more »
Bezos has enough money to literally do anything. If he owned the Bears, he could pay every single opposing NFL starter ten times their guaranteed salary to retire, and do that for the next decade, and it wouldn’t affect his wealth in the slightest.