Who owns the Chicago Bears?
THE Chicago Bears has been owned by the same person since 1983, when it was passed on.
Virginia Halas McCaskey, 98, has owned the NFL team ever since the former owner George Halas left it for her following his passing.
Who owns the Chicago Bears?
McCaskey is the principal owner of the Chicago with a 80 per cent stake in the club.
She is the longest-tenured owner in the NFL and the oldest owner of a team across the major US sports leagues, according to NBC Chicago.
Patrick Ryan, executive chairman of Aon Corp., and Aon director Andrew McKenna own 19.7 per cent of the club.
When did Virginia Halas McCaskey take ownership of Chicago Bears?
McCaskey took over ownership in 1983, after her father died.
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The Bears was founded in Decatur, Illinois on September 17, 1920, and eventually moved to Chicago in 1921.
Halas was a former Bears coach.
The former coach had intended to hand ownership of the team to his son George "Mugs" Halas Jr but he sadly died of a heart attack in 1979.
McCaskey inherited a team that won the Super Bowl XX two seasons after Halas Snr's death.
Who will take over from Virginia Halas McCaskey?
It's not quite clear who will take over from Virginia.
Her son Michael was team president from 1983 to 1999 and was chairman of the board until May 6, 2011, when his brother George McCaskey took over.
Team president Ted Phillips currently has operational control.
When he became team president, it marked the first time in the team's history that a Halas or McCaskey had not held that title.
After the death of Arizona Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill in October 2019, McCaskey became the longest-tenured owner in the NFL.
McCaskey is one of a handful of female NFL owners, including Sheila Ford Hamp (Detroit Lions), Amy Adams Strunk (Tennessee Titans), Kim Pegula (Buffalo Bills), among a few.