Report of Bears stock sale may not include McCaskey family shares

This report doesn't necessarily indicate the property is being sold outside the family or current ownership. The McCaskeys and Ryan have right of first refusal, according to Bloomberg. However, the McCaskeys are not a cash-rich ownership family and any sale now with skyrocketing NFL franchise value would be for an extremely high amount of cash.

It wouldn't be out of the question for the majority owners to sell off some of their property to private equity investors to help pay for the new stadium in the future as they are seeking to build the Arlington Heights stadium, but the reported possible deal doesn't necessarily sound like a move to impact the stadium situation because the sale involves a small number of shares not owned by the McCaskeys.

One possible way a sale of the McKenna property could influence a stadium would be if the small portion of the team was sold to an entity possessing an extreme amount of money that wanted to be involved in some sort of partnership regarding the stadium or property in Arlington Heights.

They wouldn’t get a big part of the team but certainly could rake in great profits by being involved in the stadium project. Also, it could be a sale to someone who would want to buy more shares later to help the McCaskeys raise funds for the stadium.

The league approved private equity investment in 2024 and the Bills, Dolphins, Eagles and Raiders have taken advantage of this by selling small portions of ownership shares to raise cash. The New York Giants are reportedly looking into this maneuver, as well.

Regardless of all this, it is extremely rare for Bears ownership shares to ever change hands. It almost seems inevitable for the McCaskeys to sell off some shares if they do want to build the stadium but there is no plan by the family to ever sell the team.

The Bears' estimated value is $6.4 billion, according to Forbes.

The death this year of team matriarch Virginia McCaskey brought out questions on the topic of the team's future, but there was a succession plan and it doesn't include the McCaskeys exiting the football business or even giving up the majority of ownership.

George McCaskey summed it up best when he did a radio interview on WSCR AM-670.

"My brother Pat says it very well: "We intend to hold onto the Bears until the second coming," George McCaskey said.