Chicago Bears need Roger Goodell to intervene in ownership dispute: Report

Per an article from Bloomberg last week, shares of the Chicago Bears owned by the McKenna estate are set to be sold. The shares that were purchased by the late Andrew McKenna could set off a dispute that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will have to handle.

Per Eben Novy-Williams and Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico, the McKenna estate owns a 2% minority stake in the Bears. Members of the McCaskey family, who own a majority share in the team, and other minority owners, such as Pat Ryan, are expected to purchase the 2% stake.

Roger Goodell might have to intervene

Sportico is reporting that the stake sale from the McKenna estate is “headed” toward a situation where Goodell will have to arbitrate a dispute involving two or more holders of an ownership interest, per NFL bylaws. The dispute has to do with who is in control of the right of first refusal over the stake.

Via Sportico:

“In 1990, Pat Ryan Sr. and Andrew McKenna bought roughly 20% of the Bears, with Ryan holding the much larger share. The sale was used to pay down a debt burden from two years earlier when two grandchildren of George Halas sold their shares. The McCaskey family exercised its right of first refusal (ROFR) and matched an offer by two Chicago developers to keep ownership within the family.

“Thirty-five years later, the ROFR will likely require NFL intervention. Sources say the McCaskey and Ryan families both have some form of a ROFR, and the NFL needs to decide which one trumps the other… The McCaskeys or Ryan are expected to exercise their right to match the price of any offer depending on which side the NFL rules on the competing ROFRs.”

An interesting time for Chicago Bears ownership

The dispute comes at a time when the McCaskey family is spinning a few wheels. Following the death of Virginia McCaskey, the family is expected to sell more minority shares to outside investors and Ryan, so the McCaskey family can continue to have majority ownership of the Bears while raising money to pay for estate and inheritance taxes.

The Bears are also trying to raise funds to build a new NFL stadium.

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