McCaskeys need to give Bears fans something they can believe

JABF
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McCaskeys need to give Bears fans something they can believe Jan 1, 2017 9:02:16 GMT -6

Post by JABF on Jan 1, 2017 9:02:16 GMT -6

Jan 1, 2017 8:30:36 GMT -6 butkus3595 said:

Dec 31, 2016 22:03:49 GMT -6 JABF said:

That was a great article. I had no idea that the annual revenue of the business was now $385-Million dollars a year. It is the 8th richest NFL franchise. Bigtime money maker. Yet a perennial crap team. They can afford to eat Fox's salary and not bat an eye paying him to go away. That kind of money could buy the best coaches on Planet Earth.

I hope every single sports writer steps up like David Haugh did here. The article was not a rant. It was just an outstanding piece (and I am not a Haugh fan at all... but give the man credit, this was an excellent piece).

We can all debate the various reasons for the Bears franchise becoming so bad. But regardless of the various reasons, the bottom-line is that the franchise is an embarrassment. Yet the franchise has gone from a team purchased by George Halas for $100, to a team valued at close to $3-Billion dollars now.

Here's an interesting blurb about ownership I found on Wikipedia tonight. It looks like Virginia personally controls this team (see the bold red part below):

"Ownership

Virginia Halas McCaskey, her children, and grandchildren control 80 percent of the team, and Mrs. McCaskey votes her children's stock as well as her own. Patrick Ryan, executive chairman of Aon Corp., and Aon director Andrew McKenna own 19.7% of the club.[55] In a Crain's Chicago Business article, one businessman described his wishes for the team to maximize its potential. In 2009, Yahoo! Sports listed the McCaskeys as the third worst owner in the NFL, stating "[T]hey get less for what they've got than any team in our league."[56] There have been rumors that the McCaskey family might split up over the team."

Revenue is not profit.

I understand that. I also understand that $2.7-Billion dollar McCaskey nest egg is the result of fans like us paying our money for a sports entertainment product. The product hasn't been what it should be. My point is that the family can afford to invest in the product to improve it. As you know there is no cap on franchise expenditures outside of player salaries. From a monetary perspective the family can afford to bring in the very best people to improve their product that they deliver to the fans. It's not a money barrier. The old man bought the team for $100 and his heirs have benefited for many years as the fans have spent their money on the Bears. Fans go to the games, watch the games on television or listen on the radio (resulting in media revenue). They buy the fan paraphernalia. Fans are the goose that lays that golden financial egg for the McCaskey family.

I think most fans understand that there are multiple reasons for the poor product being delivered. But my point is that money isn't a barrier to improving the franchise.

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butkus3595
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McCaskeys need to give Bears fans something they can believe Jan 1, 2017 9:19:44 GMT -6 JABF, yttocs, and 2 more like this

Post by butkus3595 on Jan 1, 2017 9:19:44 GMT -6

Jan 1, 2017 9:02:16 GMT -6 JABF said:

Jan 1, 2017 8:30:36 GMT -6 butkus3595 said:

Revenue is not profit.

I understand that. I also understand that $2.7-Billion dollar McCaskey nest egg is the result of fans like us paying our money for a sports entertainment product. The product hasn't been what it should be. My point is that the family can afford to invest in the product to improve it. As you know there is no cap on franchise expenditures outside of player salaries. From a monetary perspective the family can afford to bring in the very best people to improve their product that they deliver to the fans. It's not a money barrier. The old man bought the team for $100 and his heirs have benefited for many years as the fans have spent their money on the Bears. Fans go to the games, watch the games on television or listen on the radio (resulting in media revenue). They buy the fan paraphernalia. Fans are the goose that lays that golden financial egg for the McCaskey family.

I think most fans understand that there are multiple reasons for the poor product being delivered. But my point is that money isn't a barrier to improving the franchise.

Yeah, I think a lot of frustration is being vented here...understandably. I can't believe I'm typing this, but since I've been trying to look at the team from an objective, non-fan standpoint, I may as well do it with ownership. I think the McCaskey's are getting SOMEWHAT of a bad wrap here. A lot is made of their unwillingness to spend money. In the past 6 years we've gone through 3 coaches and 3 GM's. That costs money. They have upgraded the training facility and practice facility. That takes money. They have made improvements to the player facilities at the stadium...that takes money. They spend money. Do they spend it wisely? Well clearly in the past they have not. I think Ryan Pace was a good hire. I like his drafting, and I like what he's done in free agency. He's managed our cap well and has put us in a position to add key pieces. I think some patience is required this time around. This, to me, does not have the same feel as the Emery/Trestman debacle, and I think with some good drafting, some key pieces added in free agency, and not having 20 players hit IR next season will be a lot less frustrating for all of us.

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JABF
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McCaskeys need to give Bears fans something they can believe Jan 1, 2017 9:22:54 GMT -6

Post by JABF on Jan 1, 2017 9:22:54 GMT -6

Jan 1, 2017 9:19:44 GMT -6 butkus3595 said:

Jan 1, 2017 9:02:16 GMT -6 JABF said:

I understand that. I also understand that $2.7-Billion dollar McCaskey nest egg is the result of fans like us paying our money for a sports entertainment product. The product hasn't been what it should be. My point is that the family can afford to invest in the product to improve it. As you know there is no cap on franchise expenditures outside of player salaries. From a monetary perspective the family can afford to bring in the very best people to improve their product that they deliver to the fans. It's not a money barrier. The old man bought the team for $100 and his heirs have benefited for many years as the fans have spent their money on the Bears. Fans go to the games, watch the games on television or listen on the radio (resulting in media revenue). They buy the fan paraphernalia. Fans are the goose that lays that golden financial egg for the McCaskey family.

I think most fans understand that there are multiple reasons for the poor product being delivered. But my point is that money isn't a barrier to improving the franchise.

Yeah, I think a lot of frustration is being vented here...understandably. I can't believe I'm typing this, but since I've been trying to look at the team from an objective, non-fan standpoint, I may as well do it with ownership. I think the McCaskey's are getting SOMEWHAT of a bad wrap here. A lot is made of their unwillingness to spend money. In the past 6 years we've gone through 3 coaches and 3 GM's. That costs money. They have upgraded the training facility and practice facility. That takes money. They have made improvements to the player facilities at the stadium...that takes money. They spend money. Do they spend it wisely? Well clearly in the past they have not. I think Ryan Pace was a good hire. I like his drafting, and I like what he's done in free agency. He's managed our cap well and has put us in a position to add key pieces. I think some patience is required this time around. This, to me, does not have the same feel as the Emery/Trestman debacle, and I think with some good drafting, some key pieces added in free agency, and not having 20 players hit IR next season will be a lot less frustrating for all of us.

I don't mean to reduce this to a money-thing, so much as pointing out that money is not a barrier to improving a 30 year track record of mostly delivering a product that isn't what it should be. Granted, nobody is putting a gun to our head to be fans of the team.

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McCaskeys need to give Bears fans something they can believe Jan 1, 2017 10:33:01 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 10:33:01 GMT -6

The McCaskey's are worth $2.7 billions dollars so they could have afforded to buy all of us a $20 Christmas Gift but all we get is this lousy video.

What is it the Trumpy says? Oh yeah........."So Sad". LOL

Looks like Foxy's house cleaning may sweep two more offensive producers out the door as well so there goes our #1 passing combo if that happens. This team can't score more than 17 points on offense on average but Fox keep shipping off it's best players yet he says he plans on keeping his OC.

It's a carnival of fools running that place. There's no other explanation. If we aren't right back to talking about the same old stuff a year from now I'll buy you all a beer as my Christmas Gift. It's better than the BOHICA Kool-Aid the McCaskeys are serving today.

Chicago Bears send ‘thank you’ video to fans on Twitter
by Bryan Perez

The Chicago Bears haven't been easy to cheer for in 2016. After only three wins through 15 games, with the potential of a franchise-worst 13th loss in Week 17 against the Vikings, even the most diehard of fans were tested over the last four months.

The Bears organization isn't stupid. They know their product hasn't been very good this year, and they expressed their thanks to the fans via a video released on Twitter.

Thank you, #Bears fans.
��⬇ pic.twitter.com/GWIxB8vBJX

— Chicago Bears (@chicagobears) January 1, 2017

Players like Zach Miller, Cody Whitehair, Pernell McPhee and coach John Fox all took a moment to personally say thank you in the video that highlighted fan tweets from different parts of the season.

In a smart move, the video focused on the young stars on the Bears, including Leonard Floyd, Akiem Hicks and Jordan Howard.

Two notable absences from the 90-second production were Jay Cutler and Alshon Jeffery; both players face uncertain futures with the Bears.

The good news for Bears fans is that the abominable 2016 season is coming to an end in just a few hours. It'll be on to the offseason and the hope the comes along with free agency and the NFL draft.

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McCaskeys need to give Bears fans something they can believe Jan 1, 2017 11:02:19 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 11:02:19 GMT -6

Jan 1, 2017 8:30:36 GMT -6 butkus3595 said:

Dec 31, 2016 22:03:49 GMT -6 JABF said:

That was a great article. I had no idea that the annual revenue of the business was now $385-Million dollars a year. It is the 8th richest NFL franchise. Bigtime money maker. Yet a perennial crap team. They can afford to eat Fox's salary and not bat an eye paying him to go away. That kind of money could buy the best coaches on Planet Earth.

I hope every single sports writer steps up like David Haugh did here. The article was not a rant. It was just an outstanding piece (and I am not a Haugh fan at all... but give the man credit, this was an excellent piece).

We can all debate the various reasons for the Bears franchise becoming so bad. But regardless of the various reasons, the bottom-line is that the franchise is an embarrassment. Yet the franchise has gone from a team purchased by George Halas for $100, to a team valued at close to $3-Billion dollars now.

Here's an interesting blurb about ownership I found on Wikipedia tonight. It looks like Virginia personally controls this team (see the bold red part below):

"Ownership

Virginia Halas McCaskey, her children, and grandchildren control 80 percent of the team, and Mrs. McCaskey votes her children's stock as well as her own. Patrick Ryan, executive chairman of Aon Corp., and Aon director Andrew McKenna own 19.7% of the club.[55] In a Crain's Chicago Business article, one businessman described his wishes for the team to maximize its potential. In 2009, Yahoo! Sports listed the McCaskeys as the third worst owner in the NFL, stating "[T]hey get less for what they've got than any team in our league."[56] There have been rumors that the McCaskey family might split up over the team."

Revenue is not profit.

LOL Well thanks for the coaching in Finance #101 coach.

I think most of us understand that but with $385 mil in revenue just how much of that do you think goes to expenses. Half? Two thirds? Three quarters? That would still leave a significant sum as net profit.

While the average business might operate on a return of 5%-6% on equity according to Forbes and other financial publication the average NFL team operates closer to a 15% return on equity. No wonder billionaires want an NFL Franchise. It's like stealing money. So $2.7 bil x 15% = $410 mil and that's "average" so at $385 mil the Bears are in that ball park and would do much better if they didn't have the smallest stadium in the NFL.

So for shits and grins let's say the Bears annual expenses are 85%-90% of that $385 mil. That would mean their net profits are still in the $40-$50 mil range give or take a few mil. I believe I've even seen that figure given before regarding the franchise. The team is not exactly driving them to the poor house is it and that doesn't include the appreciation in the franchises value itself. The Bears are a huge money maker for them.

I give you much respect for all you know about the personal training of athletes because I think you know what you're doing. You share a lot of that knowledge with us here and it's appreciated. But when it comes to this stuff bother you gotta move over. This is my world and with all humility if they were a publicly traded corporation I could tell you exactly what they earn to the dollar because it would all be out there for us to see as a matter of public record and I can interpret financials. It's part of my job.

It's not so many of us use the Packer Corporation as a proxy because they are a publicly owned entity at least on paper so their financials are an open book. NFL teams are not money losing organizations and neither are the Bears.

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Last Edit: Jan 1, 2017 11:05:28 GMT -6 by Deleted

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McCaskeys need to give Bears fans something they can believe Jan 1, 2017 11:23:51 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 11:23:51 GMT -6

QUOTE butkus; " I think the McCaskey's are getting SOMEWHAT of a bad wrap here. A lot is made of their unwillingness to spend money. In the past 6 years we've gone through 3 coaches and 3 GM's. That costs money. They have upgraded the training facility and practice facility. That takes money. They have made improvements to the player facilities at the stadium...that takes money. They spend money. Do they spend it wisely? Well clearly in the past they have not."

OK, that's SOMEWHAT fair. But all of those expenditures have been bought and paid for through fan support either in person or through broadcast revenues so they were not altruistic donations made from McCaskey family coffers. They were still spending money we as fans provide right?

The last few sentences say it all and the answer is NO, they have not spent it wisely which is in essence the entire premise of Haugh's column. It's not about not trying. It's about not succeeding. Thirty plus years now of a failure to succeed to put their franchise back on top of the NFL. That's his point.

They are the 8th wealthiest franchise and quite possibly the 27th or 28th least successful one in terms of record so wouldn't you say something is upside down there? I would, and David Haugh along with a few million more of us are saying it. How else can you characterize this other than as woefully mismanaged organization when we have had to hire and fire so many sub managers and coaches? If you insist that it's not all them then whose left. You didn't cause it and neither did I so who did?

The whole point and it's conclusion is much the same as I've been saying about Fox. Passion for winning and great effort is not getting the job done. It takes more than that. Coaching takes skill and I question whether or not John Fox has it. NFL ownership takes skill too and I no longer question whether or not the McCaskeys have it. They don't and the Bears record over the 30 plus years they have controlled this team is hard evidence of that.

There really isn't another way to look at it.

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Last Edit: Jan 1, 2017 11:25:29 GMT -6 by Deleted

butkus3595
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McCaskeys need to give Bears fans something they can believe Jan 1, 2017 11:28:01 GMT -6

Post by butkus3595 on Jan 1, 2017 11:28:01 GMT -6

Jan 1, 2017 11:02:19 GMT -6 @soulman said:

Jan 1, 2017 8:30:36 GMT -6 butkus3595 said:

Revenue is not profit.

LOL Well thanks for the coaching in Finance #101 coach.

I think most of us understand that but with $385 mil in revenue just how much of that do you think goes to expenses. Half? Two thirds? Three quarters? That would still leave a significant sum as net profit.

While the average business might operate on a return of 5%-6% on equity according to Forbes and other financial publication the average NFL team operates closer to a 15% return on equity. No wonder billionaires want an NFL Franchise. It's like stealing money. So $2.7 bil x 15% = $410 mil and that's "average" so at $385 mil the Bears are in that ball park and would do much better if they didn't have the smallest stadium in the NFL.

So for shits and grins let's say the Bears annual expenses are 85%-90% of that $385 mil. That would mean their net profits are still in the $40-$50 mil range give or take a few mil. I believe I've even seen that figure given before regarding the franchise. The team is not exactly driving them to the poor house is it and that doesn't include the appreciation in the franchises value itself. The Bears are a huge money maker for them.

I give you much respect for all you know about the personal training of athletes because I think you know what you're doing. You share a lot of that knowledge with us here and it's appreciated. But when it comes to this stuff bother you gotta move over. This is my world and with all humility if they were a publicly traded corporation I could tell you exactly what they earn to the dollar because it would all be out there for us to see as a matter of public record and I can interpret financials. It's part of my job.

It's not so many of us use the Packer Corporation as a proxy because they are a publicly owned entity at least on paper so their financials are an open book. NFL teams are not money losing organizations and neither are the Bears.

I should mention I majored in business and worked on Wall St. before venturing into the training business...which I run. I'm quite knowledgeable in that as well. I never intimated they lose money.

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McCaskeys need to give Bears fans something they can believe Jan 1, 2017 12:25:16 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 12:25:16 GMT -6

Jan 1, 2017 11:28:01 GMT -6 butkus3595 said:

Jan 1, 2017 11:02:19 GMT -6 @soulman said:

LOL Well thanks for the coaching in Finance #101 coach.

I think most of us understand that but with $385 mil in revenue just how much of that do you think goes to expenses. Half? Two thirds? Three quarters? That would still leave a significant sum as net profit.

While the average business might operate on a return of 5%-6% on equity according to Forbes and other financial publication the average NFL team operates closer to a 15% return on equity. No wonder billionaires want an NFL Franchise. It's like stealing money. So $2.7 bil x 15% = $410 mil and that's "average" so at $385 mil the Bears are in that ball park and would do much better if they didn't have the smallest stadium in the NFL.

So for shits and grins let's say the Bears annual expenses are 85%-90% of that $385 mil. That would mean their net profits are still in the $40-$50 mil range give or take a few mil. I believe I've even seen that figure given before regarding the franchise. The team is not exactly driving them to the poor house is it and that doesn't include the appreciation in the franchises value itself. The Bears are a huge money maker for them.

I give you much respect for all you know about the personal training of athletes because I think you know what you're doing. You share a lot of that knowledge with us here and it's appreciated. But when it comes to this stuff bother you gotta move over. This is my world and with all humility if they were a publicly traded corporation I could tell you exactly what they earn to the dollar because it would all be out there for us to see as a matter of public record and I can interpret financials. It's part of my job.

It's not so many of us use the Packer Corporation as a proxy because they are a publicly owned entity at least on paper so their financials are an open book. NFL teams are not money losing organizations and neither are the Bears.

I should mention I majored in business and worked on Wall St. before venturing into the training business...which I run. I'm quite knowledgeable in that as well. I never intimated they lose money.

Fair enough then. My bad. But then why this response when you know better? "Revenue is not profit." It was clearly dismissive of the point JABF and others were making which is the Bears are not going broke.

If that team is blowing through nearly $400 mil in revenue each year and this is all they can do with it then they don't manage their cash flow any better than they manage their football team and I think we can both agree that's not the case. They don't know shit about football but they do know how to count the cash and the appreciation in value of their franchise.

What we do agree on is that they do not spend wisely and that is part and parcel of what I've been saying for weeks. They keep spending money to fix this busted ass old franchise of theirs and when all is said and done it's still the same busted ass old franchise. Wouldn't that indicate maybe someone else should be running it?

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butkus3595
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McCaskeys need to give Bears fans something they can believe Jan 1, 2017 12:36:37 GMT -6

Post by butkus3595 on Jan 1, 2017 12:36:37 GMT -6

Jan 1, 2017 12:25:16 GMT -6 @soulman said:

Jan 1, 2017 11:28:01 GMT -6 butkus3595 said:

I should mention I majored in business and worked on Wall St. before venturing into the training business...which I run. I'm quite knowledgeable in that as well. I never intimated they lose money.

Fair enough then. My bad. But then why this response when you know better? "Revenue is not profit." It was clearly dismissive of the point JABF and others were making which is the Bears are not going broke.

If that team is blowing through nearly $400 mil in revenue each year and this is all they can do with it then they don't manage their cash flow any better than they manage their football team and I think we can both agree that's not the case. They don't know shit about football but they do know how to count the cash and the appreciation in value of their franchise.

What we do agree on is that they do not spend wisely and that is part and parcel of what I've been saying for weeks. They keep spending money to fix this busted ass old franchise of theirs and when all is said and done it's still the same busted ass old franchise. Wouldn't that indicate maybe someone else should be running it?

My point was that yes, the revenue number looks big but at the end of the day thats not the take home. I'm not crying for the McCaskey's, but as I've said, it is a business too. Unfortunately we can't do anything about the owners.

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McCaskeys need to give Bears fans something they can believe Jan 1, 2017 13:27:11 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 13:27:11 GMT -6

Jan 1, 2017 12:36:37 GMT -6 butkus3595 said:

Jan 1, 2017 12:25:16 GMT -6 @soulman said:

Fair enough then. My bad. But then why this response when you know better? "Revenue is not profit." It was clearly dismissive of the point JABF and others were making which is the Bears are not going broke.

If that team is blowing through nearly $400 mil in revenue each year and this is all they can do with it then they don't manage their cash flow any better than they manage their football team and I think we can both agree that's not the case. They don't know shit about football but they do know how to count the cash and the appreciation in value of their franchise.

What we do agree on is that they do not spend wisely and that is part and parcel of what I've been saying for weeks. They keep spending money to fix this busted ass old franchise of theirs and when all is said and done it's still the same busted ass old franchise. Wouldn't that indicate maybe someone else should be running it?

My point was that yes, the revenue number looks big but at the end of the day thats not the take home. I'm not crying for the McCaskey's, but as I've said, it is a business too. Unfortunately we can't do anything about the owners.

No it's not and I think most of us realize that but if even as little as 10% is that's over $38 mil a year for a family many of whom are already drawing salaries for work they do in the organization and for a family who never invested one plug nickel in the deal and inherited the whole kielbasa.

I guess what JABF and others including myself are saying is that they could easily absorb paying off Fox and a few other coaches if need be AND still have plenty left over to hire that Exec of Football Ops to run the team if they chose to. What's aggravating is that part about choosing not to.

I agree with you. We can't change the owners and they aren't selling but we also know they do not like being in the spotlight or having to publicly justify themselves. That's their soft spot so I'm simply hitting it in my own way for all that's worth and I hope the Chicago sports media and Bears fans do the same. The less we expect of them the less they will give and they've proven that time and time again.

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McCaskeys need to give Bears fans something they can believe

Post by JABF on Jan 1, 2017 9:02:16 GMT -6

Post by butkus3595 on Jan 1, 2017 9:19:44 GMT -6

Post by JABF on Jan 1, 2017 9:22:54 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 10:33:01 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 11:02:19 GMT -6

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Post by butkus3595 on Jan 1, 2017 11:28:01 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 12:25:16 GMT -6

Post by butkus3595 on Jan 1, 2017 12:36:37 GMT -6

Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2017 13:27:11 GMT -6