Back in May, the Daily Herald dropped a fascinating bomb on the situation surrounding the Chicago Bears. Specifically in regards to their ownership. Everybody knows the organization has been in the hands of the McCaskey family since 1983 when founder George Halas passed away. Expectations remain that this wasn’t going to change. The franchise would stay in the family moving forward.
Now it is starting to at least seem like that isn’t a guarantee. Far from it. Jim O’Donnell reported a lot of “internal strife” behind the scenes with many of the younger generation of McCaskeys wanting to sell the team. Not long after this report came out, the news dropped that the Bears were bidding to purchase the Arlington Racecourse International property in Arlington Heights. A bid they would eventually win. This means they now have land to construct a brand new stadium.
To most this meant they finally had a way out of Soldier Field.
A few others though speculated an alternate motive. An opportunity for the McCaskeys to further jack up the price of any sale. The Bears alone are among the most expensive franchises in the NFL. Try to imagine what they’d be worth with property to build a brand new state-of-the-art stadium. The simple answer? A lot. So keep all of that in mind when learning about this next twist in the story.
Dave Williams of Barstool Chicago, or whitesoxdave to fans, is a notable insider for the Chicago White Sox. He has other connections in the Chicago sports scene as well. That was why it was unusual when he popped off this tweet on Thursday.
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I just received a call that Jeff Bezos is currently at Halas Hall. I don't know wtf that means, why he's there or if it's even true but take that as you will
— whitesoxdave (@barstoolWSD) November 18, 2021
For those who somehow don’t know, Jeff Bezos is one of the richest people on the planet. The founder and owner of Amazon, recent estimates say he is worth just shy of $200 billion. Stupid money. That by itself is interesting. What makes it even more so? Growing rumors that Bezos is interested in purchasing an NFL team.
Chicago Bears would be a premier target for Bezos
Sports franchises are considered status symbols for the super-rich these days. That is why so many prominent names are trying to buy them. Bezos does not own one yet but it is well-known by this point that he wants to. Conversely, it isn’t a secret the NFL is anxious to get him into their ownership ranks. His insanely deep pockets would further ensure the security and prosperity of the league for many years to come.
The tricky part is finding a team he can buy. Reports surfaced that Bezos attempted to purchase 40% of the Washington Football Team according to Front Office Sports back in February.
“Bezos’ attorney spoke with Baltimore-based sports investment banking firm Moag & Co., which led the effort to sell a chunk of the team, according to court documents obtained by Front Office Sports.”
That opportunity fell through.
Rumors then shifted to the idea Bezos might try to buy the Denver Broncos whom many believe will be sold by the Bowlen family by 2022. However, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk indicated he wasn’t interested in that franchise. So would the Chicago Bears be a possible target?
Absolutely. With all due respect to the Broncos, the Bears are the far bigger prize. They are one of the founding franchises in the NFL with a nationwide fanbase and sit in the third-largest media market in the country. You want a status symbol? That is a huge status symbol. He can meet any price the McCaskeys ask with absurd ease and might usher in a 21st-century business sense to an organization stuck in the Dark Ages.
It is a rumor for sure, but one that is worth monitoring in the coming months.
Fun rumor, hope it’s true.