For Sale: The Chicago Bears!!!

Author: Dawson Haywood

The last 12 hours (5/27/2021 @ 9 p.m.) there has been a rumor spreading around that the McCaskey Family is looking to sell the franchise. Virginia Halas McCaskey is the daughter of George Halas who was a founding member of the Chicago Bears in 1920. After 101 years in the family it is difficult to come to terms that the team will no longer be under the ownership of a Halas descendent, but the reality is everything is for sale for the right price.

George Halas bought the team for only $100 in 1920 and now they are valued at $3.525 billion, the 7th most valuable team in the NFL. I guess looking back this was an amazing investment. 
So who has the money to buy the Chicago Bears? There is reportedly three individuals that have shown interest in purchasing an NFL team.

- Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon
- Pat Ryan, founder and former CEO of Aon Corp, a risk and retirement consulting company
- Neil Bluhm, a real estate and casino tycoon. 

Neil Bluhm would be the most appropriate of the three to purchase the team as he has ties to the city of Chicago. He was born in the city and he attended the University of Illinois and Northwestern University. A large portion of his real estate and casino business is done in the Midwestern region of the United States and on top of that he is a minority owner of both the Chicago Bulls and White Sox. Obviously, Bluhm would take great pride in owning the historic franchise. 

What does this mean for the Bears? Going through new ownership will typically change the culture of a team. Since 2010 there have been a total of 4 new owners to purchase a team.

- 2012: Jaguars: $760m
- 2012: Browns: $1.05b
- 2014: Bills: $1.4b
- 2018: Panthers: $2.275b

The Browns and the Bills have seen success since their new ownership took over, Jacksonville has seen very little success only having one season since 2012 that was above .500, and for the Carolina Panthers it is almost to early to tell but some of Carolina's favorite players like Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, and Greg Olsen have found their way out of Carolina since Tepper walked in. So, for the Bears, undergoing new ownership puts their future into the unknown. I would like to think that whoever comes in is going to want to do something to please the fans and get rid of Pace and Nagy. New owners are ambitious and like to do things their way, besides, they're billionaires so why not. 

While it is currently just a rumor, the Bears being under new ownership would be a good thing for the team. The McCaskey family has become complacent over the last few years and is okay with mediocrity. The Chicago Bears is a historic team with fans whos fathers and grandfathers were also fans. There is a passion that fans have for a team that has been around for over 100 years and has remained an icon in one of the largest cities in the United States. It is time for change and time for the Bears to be competitive again.