The Chicago Bears had an eventful day on the second full day of their summer vacation. It included a potential change in (minority) ownership. Additionally, the Bears’ 2025 rookie class had a group day out. There was also another reminder that quarterback Caleb Williams’ protection was remarkably bad last season.
Bears’ Plans to Sell Minority Stake Leads News Round-Up
Bears Selling Minority Stake
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg’s Randall Williams and Miranda Davis reported that the Bears are looking to sell a minority stake in the franchise that was previously owned by the late Andrew McKenna Sr., who died in 2023.
It is unclear how large the share is. Davis and Williams noted the McCaskey-Halas faction owns “approximately 80% of the team, though.
Bears chairman George McCaskey and president Kevin Warren have both entertained the idea.
“In addition to McKenna’s stake, some shares are owned by insurance billionaire Pat Ryan, 88. Ryan and McKenna originally purchased 19.7% of the club in 1990,” Davis and Williams wrote on June 11. “It’s likely the Halas descendants, along with Ryan, will have the right of refusal for any potential investors. Galatioto Sports Partners was hired to handle the potential sale.”
The Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and San Francisco 49ers have all sold minority stakes in their respective organizations in recent months. However, there are no plans for the McCaskey family to sell their majority stake anytime soon.
“We’ve said for many years that we intend to own the Bears for as long as possible,” George McCaskey said after the annual league meeting, per The Athletic’s Adam Jahns in April. “Another 100 years would be great. She set it up for us to accomplish that.
“Now we’ve got to execute the plan, and we’re prepared to do that. We’ve got to stick together.”
Still, anytime an NFL team goes up for sale, even partially, it is newsworthy.
Caleb Williams Extremely Unlucky in 2024
Williams’ uneven rookie season is well documented, as he absorbed a league-leading 68 sacks during the regular season while also setting the mark for most consecutive passes without an interception.
NFL.com’s Kevin Patra offered a pair of metrics that underscore just how much duress Williams was under in 2024.
“Williams’ rookie struggles were notorious. Some of the issues were on the young passer. Others were on a woeful offensive line. According to Next Gen Stats, Williams was the victim of 57 unblocked pressures and 13 unblocked sacks in 2024 (both most in the NFL),” Patra wrote on June 13. “Chicago hopes that horrific stat line will be negated by improved blocking and a more aware QB in Year 2.”
The Bears spared no expense to upgrade the interior of their offensive line.
They traded for Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, and signed Drew Dalman in free agency, giving them a combined $84.5 million in guaranteed money. They also drafted offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo in the second round of the 2025 draft.
2022 fifth-round pick Braxton Jones is the presumed starter until further notice, but he has missed the entire offseason program of on-field work recovering from an ankle injury.
The Bears have 2023 No. 10 overall pick Darnell Wright as the anchor on the right side.
As for Williams, new head coach Ben Johnson has made it a point to make Williams uncomfortable and said he is pleased with the progress the former No. 1 pick has made so far, while also acknowledging they have a long way to go as a team.
Bears Rookies’ Day Out
Trapilo led the Bears’ rookies on their day trip, which they spent at Wrigley Field, taking in a Chicago Cubs game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Trapilo even got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
“Ozzy Trapilo and the #Bears rookies threw out the first pitch at the #Cubs game and did a fine job,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport posted on X, sharing a clip of his experience for comparison on June 13. “Just not quite as stellar a job as I did when I did the same at a #Mets game.”
The Bears posted the full group photo on the field together. That is notable if for no other reason than we have not seen some (namely Luther Burden III) since rookie minicamp.
