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Chicago Bears Exploring Franchise Sale: Report

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Max Dible | Last updated Jun 13, 2025 12:02 PM ET

The Chicago Bears organization has existed for over 100 years and serves as an institution not just in American football and the NFL specifically, but in the entire landscape of American sports.

On Friday, June 13, Bloomberg News reported that owners of the historic franchise are considering sale options, with the important caveat that the portion of the interest sold would represent only a minority stake in the team.

The portion of the team the Bears are considering putting on the market belonged to Andrew McKenna Sr., who served as chairman of the McDonald's restaurant empire for a time and died in 2023.

"The exact size of the stake isn’t known," Randall Williams and Miranda Davis wrote. "The descendants of George Halas, the team’s founder, own approximately 80% of the team. 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. 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 Bears are in the planning phases of construction on a new, multi-billion stadium in Arlington Heights, which would mean abandoning Soldier Field in downtown Chicago, where the team has played its home games for the last century.

Bloomberg reported further on Friday that Bears CEO Kevin Warren "has been considering private equity transactions since the league granted approval for institutional investors last year."

George McCaskey, the Bears current chairman, succeeded his mother Virginia Halas McCaskey in that role after she died in February at the age of 102.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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