NFL fans want to know who owns the Chicago Bears after Virginia McCaskey passed away. The McCaskey family announced on Thursday, February 6, that Virginia had died having “lived a long, full, faith-filled life” at the age of 102, and that she had “guided the Bears for four decades.” That said, the ownership structure of the NFL team is somewhat complicated and her controlling stake will now need to be redistributed. Here’s what we know so far about who the new owner of the Chicago Bears will be.
Who is the new owner of the Chicago Bears after Virginia’s passing?
The new owner of the Bears after the passing of Virginia McCaskey is presumed to be one of her sons, George McCaskey, who currently serves as the chairman. That said, it’s unclear how her 22.6% stake in the team will be distributed among her family members.
In a 2024 article by Crain Currency, the plan for the Bears is that the team would be under the control of George McCaskey after Virginia, according to Marc Ganis, president of consulting firm Sportscorp Ltd. However, he pointed out that “as with things like this, you don’t really know until it happens.”
As explained by Jagran Josh, while Virginia owned 22.6% of the Bears, 11 of her children and 2 of her nephews owned 3.8% each (that’s 49.4% total). The Brizzolara family owns stocks totaling 8.33%, while the remaining 19.67% is controlled by Patrick Ryan, the CEO of Aon Corp., along with the estate of the late Andrew J. McKenna. While the precise owner of the Bears has yet to be finalized, this means that ownership will likely remain within the McCaskey family.
Still, some McCaskey family members were willing to sell their stake in 2024, with some wanting to cover taxes and others thinking about selling the team entirely. Pat Ryan would be a “likely candidate” to acquire the team if ownership of the Bears leaves the McCaskey family.
