Are The Bears On the Market?

Grizzled · Sat Jun 05, 2021 9:03 am

https://sports.yahoo.com/bears-could-re ... 07138.html

Pat Ryan looks like he has the inside track, he has first crack at buying more shares to add to his 19.7% stake. If Jeff Bezos, though, is interested and gets involved, he could offer the McCaskeys much more than anyone else if there's a bidding war.

It would be a sad day for the NFL if the team is sold and leaves Halas family control. But I don't think they have the financial resources to compete in today's environment.

Wounded Bear · Sat Jun 05, 2021 2:26 pm

Good. I saw another article about this as well. I have a feeling that this story wouldn’t be out there if the McCaskeys didn’t want it to be out there.

Sorry, GSH, but your offspring did very little to continue your legacy.

Sat Jun 05, 2021 2:41 pm

We’ve got a few threads on this, and they’re all murky with rumor and prospective theory. I don’t think this is a “where there’s smoke” situation. It’s a “if they chose to rub those sticks together there could be smoke maybe, eventually, someday” situation. All because an unnamed insider alleged there is more impetus to sell from the family than once thought.

Mikefive · Sat Jun 05, 2021 3:25 pm

But once Virginia goes....

Sat Jun 05, 2021 3:48 pm

I have a hard time feeling like the McCaskeys are going to sell their sole commodity. There’s a few in the family I’m sure that are more determined to get out, but it’s not the Ricketts or the Wirtz empires that were made in other trades.

Yogi da Bear · Sat Jun 05, 2021 5:34 pm

Gawd, DON'T let Bezos buy it. I hate that fucking guy. He's as bad as the Carnegies and Rockefellers used to be a should be broken the fuck up.

TheWorldBreaker · Sat Jun 05, 2021 5:53 pm

UOK wrote: ↑Sat Jun 05, 2021 3:48 pm I have a hard time feeling like the McCaskeys are going to sell their sole commodity. There’s a few in the family I’m sure that are more determined to get out, but it’s not the Ricketts or the Wirtz empires that were made in other trades.

I think with the current regime running America and the likely changes to the tax laws coming, their hands might be forced when Virginia passes.

Also, if they do sell, it’s probably sold for a minimum of 4 billion dollars, so even with how many people would get a cut, that’s still generational wealth for all of them.

Sat Jun 05, 2021 7:13 pm

And let’s have that be the maximum amount of politics brought up.

docc · Sat Jun 05, 2021 8:56 pm

So sad when BILLIONAIRES fight over a slice of their $4,000,000,000...

I might not sleep well..

The Cooler King · Sat Jun 05, 2021 9:02 pm

Grizzled wrote: ↑Sat Jun 05, 2021 9:03 am https://sports.yahoo.com/bears-could-re ... 07138.html

Pat Ryan looks like he has the inside track, he has first crack at buying more shares to add to his 19.7% stake. If Jeff Bezos, though, is interested and gets involved, he could offer the McCaskeys much more than anyone else if there's a bidding war.

It would be a sad day for the NFL if the team is sold and leaves Halas family control. But I don't think they have the financial resources to compete in today's environment.

As it relates to the team on the field, they have proven they can compete financially. They're a high dollar spender on salaries and in the past 20ish years since Phillips became president have really ramped up other areas.

Really where their lack of wealth shows is the stadium deal. It's a poor team's stadium deal (but a good one given those circumstances)

Grizzled · Sun Jun 06, 2021 2:21 pm

The Cooler King wrote: ↑Sat Jun 05, 2021 9:02 pm
Grizzled wrote: ↑Sat Jun 05, 2021 9:03 am https://sports.yahoo.com/bears-could-re ... 07138.html

Pat Ryan looks like he has the inside track, he has first crack at buying more shares to add to his 19.7% stake. If Jeff Bezos, though, is interested and gets involved, he could offer the McCaskeys much more than anyone else if there's a bidding war.

It would be a sad day for the NFL if the team is sold and leaves Halas family control. But I don't think they have the financial resources to compete in today's environment.
As it relates to the team on the field, they have proven they can compete financially. They're a high dollar spender on salaries and in the past 20ish years since Phillips became president have really ramped up other areas.

Really where their lack of wealth shows is the stadium deal. It's a poor team's stadium deal (but a good one given those circumstances)

I'm no expert on their finances but understand from what I've read that they're paper-rich from the team and the team pays enough for them to stay competitive. Somehow Mark Davis, who supposedly had little wealth, was able to broker a deal for a new stadium in Vegas for the Raiders. We don't know if they even want to move from Soldiers Field and, if so, if they're interested in the Arlington racetrack or have another site in mind.

Wounded Bear · Mon Jun 07, 2021 2:13 am

Well I think we'll all agree, first thing new ownership must do is secure Ted Phillips to a long term contract.

Mon Jun 07, 2021 4:41 am

Wounded Bear wrote: ↑Mon Jun 07, 2021 2:13 am Well I think we'll all agree, first thing new ownership must do is secure Ted Phillips to a long term contract.

AKA a restraining order? Sure.

Boris13c · Mon Jun 07, 2021 11:25 am

another article on this to tease us :

Chicago Bears could soon be for sale: Owners having internal discussions about maybe selling team, per report

an interesting point is :

According to Jim O'Donnell of the Daily Herald in Chicago, there could be a sale coming in the near future and that's because there's some "internal strife going on among family members to sell ... now."

I guess the situation isn't as bad as the one with the Chargers where family members are suing each other for control of the team, but it wouldn't surprise me if at some point in the future the McCaskey clan turns a team sale into a shit show

wulfy · Mon Jun 07, 2021 12:16 pm

That article just cites the original Daily Herald article that started all the chatter. So far, there has been no reporting independent of the Jim O'Donnell story that says they are considering a sale. Not saying his reporting is wrong, he's just the only one saying it. It would be nice if a more established member of the media, either nationally or locally, could collaborate the DH scoop.

Artbest · Mon Jun 07, 2021 4:26 pm

If I'm not mistaken, Virgina's will and estate plan have accounted for change of control in the event of her passing. I do not believe the Bears are being sold now or when she's no longer with us.

Yogi da Bear · Mon Jun 07, 2021 5:01 pm

Artbest wrote: ↑Mon Jun 07, 2021 4:26 pm If I'm not mistaken, Virgina's will and estate plan have accounted for change of control in the event of her passing. I do not believe the Bears are being sold now or when she's no longer with us.

Yeah, if she wants to make sure the team stays in the family, and I think she does, she would make sure that control would pass to one specific member or a small family board in the form of Voting v. Common Stock rather than be dispersed equally among the surviving family members if she was smart, and I think she is.

Wounded Bear · Mon Jun 07, 2021 6:07 pm

Yogi da Bear wrote: ↑Mon Jun 07, 2021 5:01 pm
Artbest wrote: ↑Mon Jun 07, 2021 4:26 pm If I'm not mistaken, Virgina's will and estate plan have accounted for change of control in the event of her passing. I do not believe the Bears are being sold now or when she's no longer with us.
Yeah, if she wants to make sure the team stays in the family, and I think she does, she would make sure that control would pass to one specific member or a small family board in the form of Voting v. Common Stock rather than be dispersed equally among the surviving family members if she was smart, and I think she is.

You know, that makes a lot of sense.

With that said, I get the feeling that the kids may feel differently about keeping the team in the family.