2025 Bears Offseason Thread

[BigSlick]

For the longest time people thought that a baseball player's prime was like, ages 27-29, and then people actually studied it and found that actually no, most players primes were actually far, far earlier. Like, early 20s to mid-20s (if that). There are freaks of nature out there but they are the exception, not the rule.

It's far worse with football players. Most of the value of a given player will be on their first contract, when drafted. 

[minnesotacubsfan]

1 hour ago, BigSlick said:

For the longest time people thought that a baseball player's prime was like, ages 27-29, and then people actually studied it and found that actually no, most players primes were actually far, far earlier. Like, early 20s to mid-20s (if that). There are freaks of nature out there but they are the exception, not the rule.

It's far worse with football players. Most of the value of a given player will be on their first contract, when drafted. 

that applies to most nfl picks, for sure. But not really for multiple pro-bowl, all pro types. Garrett is still at that higher level of play. multiple years in a row at pro-bowl and all pro, the most recent being 2024...

[Brian707]

Virgina McCaskey has died

 

Edited February 6, 2025 by Brian707

[Wilson A2000]

 

[UMFan83]

4 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

Virgina McCaskey has died

 

Sad but she lived a full life. Very fitting that the last Bears game she saw on this Earth was a win over the Packers. It will be interesting to see how her ownership shares are disbursed amongst the McCaskey family. I’m assuming George will become the majority owner?  Could this shake some things up allowing them to sell the team? Interesting times, but for today it’s RIP Virginia 

[CubinNY]

They may have to sell to pay the estate taxes. 

[Wilson A2000]

4 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

They may have to sell to pay the estate taxes. 

They will ask for a loan from the city and state I bet

[Outshined_One]

Aren't there like 12 different heirs who could vie for control of the team?

This might be a Denver Broncos type of situation where the NFL might force a sale to keep the team from descending into probate hell.

[jumbo]

3 minutes ago, Outshined_One said:

Aren't there like 12 different heirs who could vie for control of the team?

This might be a Denver Broncos type of situation where the NFL might force a sale to keep the team from descending into probate hell.

How have we not talked about this here before?!

I mean, she was 102! And RIP, Ginnie

[mul21]

39 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

They may have to sell to pay the estate taxes. 

I would be shocked if they didn't have everything in a trust and money set aside for that since this has been coming for at least 10 years.

[minnesotacubsfan]

42 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

They may have to sell to pay the estate taxes. 

Im sure they had that figured out years ago

 

.......

[minnesotacubsfan]

3 minutes ago, mul21 said:

I would be shocked if they didn't have everything in a trust and money set aside for that since this has been coming for at least 10 years.

I would be too purely from a family / business standpoint, but it is the Bears so who knows

 

 

[minnesotacubsfan]

1 hour ago, UMFan83 said:

Sad but she lived a full life. Very fitting that the last Bears game she saw on this Earth was a win over the Packers. It will be interesting to see how her ownership shares are disbursed amongst the McCaskey family. I’m assuming George will become the majority owner?  Could this shake some things up allowing them to sell the team? Interesting times, but for today it’s RIP Virginia 

grew up inside the halls of a charter franchise, in wealth, long life and gets to die before the AI/bitcoin coup is fully complete!

[WrigleyField 22]

It's possible selling is just part of plan, but yea, they've had plenty of notice here, and they've been making some big investments along way. It's not like they'll be forced to sell.

 

NFL has also revised a few different rules in past couple years to allow for more diluted ownership structures.

[UMFan83]

1 hour ago, WrigleyField 22 said:

It's possible selling is just part of plan, but yea, they've had plenty of notice here, and they've been making some big investments along way. It's not like they'll be forced to sell.

 

NFL has also revised a few different rules in past couple years to allow for more diluted ownership structures.

I honestly thought they were positioning for a sale when they bought Arlington Park and why they’ve been pushing so hard to get a stadium plan in place. If you can sell the team and a parcel of land already vetted out for a new lucrative stadium that only ups the value of the sale I would think. 

[jersey cubs fan]

2 hours ago, Outshined_One said:

Aren't there like 12 different heirs who could vie for control of the team?

This might be a Denver Broncos type of situation where the NFL might force a sale to keep the team from descending into probate hell.

There’s 4 or 5 McCaskeys on the board, along with Pat Ryan. My guess is they collectively have a controlling interest. It is likely that some of the family will look to sell off their portions but they’ve been working on this for decades.

[BigSlick]

I don’t think Virginia was responsible at all for the Bears woes (although letting her nimrod children run the team had been a problem) but part of me hopes her passing inaugurates a new, better, era of Bears football.

[WrigleyField 22]

1 hour ago, BigSlick said:

I don’t think Virginia was responsible at all for the Bears woes (although letting her nimrod children run the team had been a problem) but part of me hopes her passing inaugurates a new, better, era of Bears football.

With the chance to put a real secretary on the board, sky is the limit 

[minnesotacubsfan]

13 minutes ago, WrigleyField 22 said:

With the chance to put a real secretary on the board, sky is the limit 

i'm going purely on a "undo the jinx" level and saying yes now we are bound to win at least 8 sb's in a row

 

 

[cwood218]

The below part was posted on another Bears forum by a user today. He was quoting some article I believe.

Not sure how accurate or up to date it is ... so grain of salt.

 

But here’s the wrinkle: The NFL bylaws state that a single lineal family must control 30% of each franchise (which Virginia does via the voting trust). However, when she dies, the voting trust expires and the Bears ownership “will be thinly spread over more than a dozen Halas heirs, without a single person or descendant anywhere close to that 30% threshold.”

In the end, it seems very likely that when Virginia passes, the team will be required to consolidate control of at least 30% of the team into a “single wing” of the McCaskey family, potentially including the sale of some equity to outsiders.

And that could cause a ton of friction (lawsuits, exits, desires to sell, etc.) if not handled delicately. Traditionally, those issues tend not to pop up until the rubber meets the road (a.k.a. Virginia passes). Everyone will play nice until then, not to rock the boat, but if anyone feels slighted by the direction of the $5 billion company, well … there’s a whole HBO series about it."

[UMFan83]

1 hour ago, cwood218 said:

The below part was posted on another Bears forum by a user today. He was quoting some article I believe.

Not sure how accurate or up to date it is ... so grain of salt.

 

But here’s the wrinkle: The NFL bylaws state that a single lineal family must control 30% of each franchise (which Virginia does via the voting trust). However, when she dies, the voting trust expires and the Bears ownership “will be thinly spread over more than a dozen Halas heirs, without a single person or descendant anywhere close to that 30% threshold.”

In the end, it seems very likely that when Virginia passes, the team will be required to consolidate control of at least 30% of the team into a “single wing” of the McCaskey family, potentially including the sale of some equity to outsiders.

And that could cause a ton of friction (lawsuits, exits, desires to sell, etc.) if not handled delicately. Traditionally, those issues tend not to pop up until the rubber meets the road (a.k.a. Virginia passes). Everyone will play nice until then, not to rock the boat, but if anyone feels slighted by the direction of the $5 billion company, well … there’s a whole HBO series about it."

I was reading today that George Halas’ son Mugs was supposed to take over ownership of the team but died suddenly in 1979. Virginia was executor of his estate.  This is where it gets interesting (I never knew about all of this):

Quote

George Sr. intended for Mugs to inherit the team upon his death.^[14] Bears' executive Jerry Vainisiand NFL Hall of Famer Dan Hampton both reported that George Sr. never wanted the McCaskeys to control the team.^[2][15] Charles Brizzolara, a Chicago businessmen and Bears board member, claimed that Mugs intended for Stephen to succeed him as Bears president to keep franchise within the Halas family.^[2] Upon George Sr.'s death in 1983, Mugs' older sister, Virginia Halas McCaskey, inherited the team.^[16]A legal battle subsequently brewed between Mugs' heirs and the Halas-McCaskey family over their inheritance, life insurance payout, and ownership stake.^[17]

In August 1987, Virginia followed the will and testament of George Sr. to restructure the franchise's ownership to mitigate the impact of his estate tax and lower income taxes on skybox rental income at Soldier Field. The ensuing reorganization resulted in Mugs' heirs having their 30.5% stake in the franchise converted and reclassified to 19.67%, while also losing their seat on the Bears' board. Christine and Stephen unsuccessfully sued Virginia to block the reorganization, alleging she intentionally damaged the value their stocks through the reorganization and to recover $2.5 million in damages.^[18][19] A Cook County judge determined that Virginia did not damage Christine and Stephen's stocks, but reprimanded her for not disclosing plans of the reorganization to them sooner.^[20]

Imagine how different Bears history would be if GSH’s wishes were followed. 

[UMFan83]

Anyways this is pretty sweet praise

 

[raw]

12 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

Anyways this is pretty sweet praise

 

The only offensive coach on the list and the other 2 will never be NFL HCs again. Granted, McVay and Shanahan among others probably deserve some love too. 

[Banedon]

Dick Jauron died.

[WrigleyField 22]

1 hour ago, Banedon said:

Dick Jauron died.

RIP. 2001 was fun.  Seemed like a legitimately well liked as a coach by his players.  Sounds like it may have been pretty sudden too.