The Chicago Bears are in disarray after firing head coach Matt Eberflus, but if the McCaskey family opens bidding on the organization, the operation might be overhauled. The McCaskeys have owned the team for over a century, since it was founded as one of the sport’s first franchises. Virginia McCaskey, the family matriarch, is 101 years old, and how she handles the Bears ownership transition may determine whether or not the franchise is sold.
If the Bears go on the market, which oddsmakers say is a strong probability, bidding will be fierce, and some of the world’s richest and most recognized personalities might be in the hunt to become the team’s primary owner.
Last week, the online sportsbook Bovada named internet tycoon and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as the clear favorite to buy the brand if it ever changes hands. “NEWS: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the STRONG FAVORITE to BUY the Chicago [Bears] and become their next OWNER, per @BovadaOfficial,” the ML Football X account tweeted on December 4. “Bezos, who is worth over [$230] billion dollars, has shown interest in purchasing an NFL team and has the money to blow the McCaskey family away.”
Bezos has sought to go into professional sports for some years, expressing interest in owning the Washington Commanders when they were for sale and putting his name in the running to buy the Boston Celtics, which could be sold within the next year or so.
Chicago would be an excellent investment for a variety of reasons. No team has a longer history in the NFL than the Bears, and Chicago is the third-largest television market in the United States, trailing only New York and Los Angeles.
The team is also in an excellent financial position relative to the salary cap heading into 2025, with an estimated $82.2 million in space as of Monday, which leaves plenty of room to upgrade the roster in an attempt to win right away.
Chicago also just used the No. 1 pick to take rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, who has struggled at times this season but has shown flashes of potentially being a star at the professional level, meaning the most difficult position in sports to fill may already be set for the next 10-15 years.
The Bears’ problems over the past couple of the seasons largely fell on the shoulders of Eberflus, who team brass recently fired.
There is no guarantee Bezos would keep the likes of general manager Ryan Poles and team president and CEO Kevin Warren, though Adam Jahns of The Athletic contended Sunday that it is the upper reaches of the organization that have created a “mess” in Chicago.
“[The Bears] might need a new general manager and team president, too, if losses like the San Francisco 49ers’ 38-13 spanking of the Bears at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday develop into a damning trend as the rest of the season plays out,” according to Jahns.
“With Eberflus dismissed, Poles’ and Warren’s roles in what has been a tumultuous season merit closer investigation and criticism. The Bears may have appeared to be close to their NFC North opponents in the previous three weeks, but [Kyle] Shanahan’s 49ers demonstrated exactly how far away they truly are.”
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