Bear Digest

Potential Giants sale can show revenue path Bears can follow

The Giants have confirmed they are looking into selling minority shares of the team to private equity companies and it's a path that could help family ownerships like the Bears.
Gene Chamberlain|
As the McCaskey ownership moves forward following the passing of Virginia McCaskey, Giants ownership is showing a way for family ownership of teams to continue in the league.
As the McCaskey ownership moves forward following the passing of Virginia McCaskey, Giants ownership is showing a way for family ownership of teams to continue in the league. | Gene Chamberlain photo | BearsOnSI

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Chicago Bears

With the passing of cherished team matriarch Virginia McCaskey, a great question facing the Bears going forward is whether the family can keep control of the franchise.

It might not be an easy thing to achieve if any of the nine surviving children of Ed and Virginia McCaskey wanted to sell off parts of their ownership for the sake of liquidity but the New York Giants are showing the way for the Bears and other teams to do such a thing.

On Thursday it was reported by NFL Network and New York Giants on SI that the Mara and Tisch families hired a banker to sell up to 10 percent of the team, following lead from several other NFL franchises.

The league last year put into effect a rule allowing sales of up to 10% of teams to private equity firms and it's expected the Giants' sale will draw interest from numerous equity and hedge funds.

Such a sale will increase the overall valuation besides giving the owners who sell shares huge infusions of capital.

The Bears haven't said they will do this but it's safe to assume there will be some interest in the future.

Just before last season the rule was passed, and resident Kevin Warren was asked about the topic. He said it was a process being studied.

"I want to make sure any decisions we make don’t create any unintended consequences," Warren said. "At this point in time, it’s no something that we’re focused on and exploring in Chicago. But I say that to say these next couple months, my focus will be to make sure I truly understand how the private equity system would work in the National Football league."

The examples are there now to show this as before the Giants began their process, the Bills, Dolphins, Eagles and Raiders had sold off parts of their ownership.

The Giants were valued at $7.3 billion in the most recent valuation published by Forbes, the seventh most valuable sports franchise. The Bears are 15th on that list at $6.4 billion, just behind the Manchester United soccer club ($6.55 billion) and ninth overall in the NFL.

There has been no verified report of any of the McCaskeys desiring to sell parts of their shares but the idea has always been for the family to keep the team.

When he announced prior to the 2010 season that he would be stepping down as board chairman, the late Michael McCaskey said the Bears did not plan on selling.

"We intend for our family to own the Bears as long as you care to think about it," McCaskey said.

The actions taken by the Giants, Eagles, Bills and other NFL teams after the league opened up this path in showing the way for  the Bears ownership to continue into the future in control of the team even if some family members decide they want to sell part of their stake now that the main ownership of the team passes on to the children and grandchildren.

"They have a very solid estate plan, from what I'm told," Chicago-based sports marketing consultant Marc Ganis told Fran Spielman and Mitchell Armentrout of the Sun-Times

With nine children, 21 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren involved, it is possible someone might want to cash out at some point but the NFL rule only allows 10% purhase by private equity firms.

When he took over from his brother, George McCaskey offered up some foresight about guiding the organization through potential future economic challenges.

"It’s going to be difficult, but we think we’re up to the challenge," McCaskey said. "Our entire family supports the notion of being the owners of the Chicago Bears for as long as possible."

The path shown by the other NFL teams with sales to equity firms only seems like one that will make this possible for a lot longer, if they so choose.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.