The Chicago Bears are in a period of flux after firing head coach Matt Eberflus, but the operation could undergo an overhaul were the McCaskey family to open bidding on the franchise.
The McCaskeys have owned the team for more than a century, ever since its inception as one of the sport’s original franchises. The family matriarch Virginia McCaskey is 101 years old, and how she eventually structures the transition of the Bears ownership could determine whether or not the franchise comes up for sale.
Should the Bears hit the market, which oddsmakers currently believe is a distinct possibility, the bidding will be substantial and some of the richest and most famous names in the world will potentially be in the running to purchase the team as its principal owner.
Last week, the online sportsbook Bovada listed internet billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as the prominent favorite to buy the franchise should it eventually change hands.
“NEWS: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the STRONG FAVORITE to BUY the Chicago [Bears] and be their next OWNER, per @BovadaOfficial,” the ML Football X account shared 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.”
Jeff Bezos Has Tried to Get Into Pro Sports for Years
MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty ImagesAmazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Bezos has wanted to get into professional sports for several years, showing interest in purchasing the Washington Commanders back when that franchise was for sale and throwing his name in the hat to buy the Boston Celtics, a team that could be sold within the next year or so.
Chicago would be a good investment for several reasons. No team has a longer history in the NFL than the Bears do and Chicago is the third-largest television market in the United States behind only New York and Los Angeles.
The team is also in a good place financially relative to the salary cap heading into 2025, with a projected $82.2 million in space as of Monday, which allows for a lot of room to improve the roster in an attempt to win immediately.
Chicago also just used the No. 1 pick to draft rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, who has struggled at times this season but has shown flashes of potentially becoming a star at the professional level — meaning the toughest position in sports to fill may already be secure for the next 10-15 years.
Bears Have Points Against Them as NFL Franchise
GettyChicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles.
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,” Jahns wrote. “With Eberflus fired, Poles’ and Warren’s places in what this season has become deserve more scrutiny and plenty more criticism. The Bears might have looked like a team that was close against its NFC North rivals in the previous three weeks, but [Kyle] Shanahan’s 49ers showed everyone just how far away the Bears really are.”
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