The Bears franchise was valued at $8.8 billion when their owners agreed to buy back a percentage of the team, according to a report Thursday.
The McCaskey and Ryan families will share in the 2% equity they agreed to by back from the estate of Andrew McKenna, Sportico reported. The deal is pending league approval.
The McCaskeys own about 77.5% of the Bears, per Sportico, with the Ryans owning the rest. Pat Ryan founded Aon and is a philanthropist and prominent booster at Northwestern, where both the basketball arena and football stadium are named after him.
The $8.8 billion valuation put on the Bears would make them the most expensive NFL valuation yet. The Dolphins, Eagles and 49ers have all sold portions of their team recently, with each valuation topping $8 million.
George McCaskey is the Bears’ chairman. His mother Virginia died in February at age 102.
McKenna and Ryan bought 19.6% of the Bears in 1990. McKenna —who served as board chairman for McDonald’s, Notre Dame, the Cubs and White Sox, among others — died in February 2023.
“Few people have had a larger impact on our great city,” George McCaskey said at the time. “Andy spent his life dedicated to institutions across sports, media, museums, academia, health care and more sharing his insights and leadership.”