In late April, Peggy Kusinski of ESPN provided an update on the McCaskey family and their alleged plans to sell minority shares of the Chicago Bears. The family is believed to have filed an extension on their inheritance and estate taxes that were due in 2025 following the death of Virginia McCaskey.
The cash-poor but asset (Bears) rich McCaskey family would sell minority shares of the team to help pay the heavy tax burden while remaining in majority control of the team that George Halas helped create into one of the league’s most valuable franchises.
The Chicago Bears plan to sell shares from the McKenna estate
Per Randall Williams and Miranda Davis of Bloomberg, the McCaskeys’ plans to sell minority shares have taken a new twist. The team is looking to sell minority shares held by the McKenna estate.
“The NFL’s Chicago Bears are exploring a sale of the minority stake owned by the late Andrew McKenna Sr., according to people familiar with the matter,” Williams and Davis wrote.
It’s unclear how much stake in the Bears the McKenna estate owns. McKenna died in 2023. Per the Bloomberg report, the McCaskey’s own nearly 80% of the Bears.
“In addition to McKenna’s stake, some shares are owned by insurance billionaire Pat Ryan, 88. Ryan and McKenna originally purchased 19.7% of the club in 1990,” Williams and Daivis wrote. “It’s likely the Halas descendants, along with Ryan, will have the right of refusal for any potential investors.
“Galatioto Sports Partners was hired to handle the potential sale.”
The selling spree comes as the Bears look to build a stadium
Per Kusinski, Ryan was among the investors expected to buy more minority shares of the Bears during what is becoming a sudden selling spree.
The ownership dynamics and added minority investment come at a time when the Bears are planning to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights or downtown Chicago. Regardless of who buys the new shares offered by the McCaskey family and of McKenna estate, the McCaskeys plan to retain control of the team.
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