The Bears are remaining in the hands of George Halas’ heirs, with “another 100 years” the goal of George McCaskey, Halas’ grandson.
The death of the 102-year-old Virginia McCaskey on Feb. 6 created uncertainty about the team’s ownership but this week NFL owners approved a succession plan that keeps the team in the hands of the McCaskey family.
“We consider ourselves uniquely qualified to carry out George Halas’ legacy,” McCaskey told reporters at the NFL owners meetings in Palm Beach, Fla. “And we have every intention of doing that.”
George McCaskey remains the team’s chairman with three of his brothers — Pat, Brian and Ed Jr. — on the board of directors. They are joined by Pat Ryan and team president/CEO Kevin Warren.
Due to the complication of estate taxes, there had been speculation controlling interest in the team could pass to Ryan, the retired chairman of AON whose net worth is $13.7 billion, according to Forbes.
The Bears’ last major change in ownership was driven by a complicated situation with estate taxes after Halas’ death in 1983. Ryan and the late Andrew McKenna bought into the team in 1990 after the Halas family exercised right of first refusal to cancel a $17 million offer for 20 percent of the team from Chicago developers Judd Malkin and Neil Bluhm. That ownership share had been held by Halas’ grandchildren Christine and Stephen Halas, according to the Tribune.
The McCaskey family retains 80 percent ownership of the franchise, which Halas founded in 1921. George McCaskey does not expect any significant changes in ownership.
“There shouldn’t be,” he said. “(Virginia) set this up for a smooth transition. And it’s a credit to her. In law school, I heard stories about people who just couldn’t contemplate their mortality, and as a result it caused a lot of confusion and problems for the family. But she had the foresight to set it up so we don’t have that problem.”
Because the Bears haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1985 and had only one winning season since 2012, when Lovie Smith was fired as head coach, the McCaskey family isn’t inspiring confidence. But the team has set itself up for a renaissance on the field behind first-year head coach Ben Johnson and second-year quarterback, Caleb Williams, the first overall pick in the 2024 draft.
Warren was hired away from his position as Big Ten commissioner with a mandate to solve the franchise’s need for a stadium along the lines of those that have opened in the last 15 years, including AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex.; Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.; Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. He hopes to break ground before the end of the year, either in suburban Arlington Heights or one of two sites in Chicago.