Virginia Halas McCaskey

McCaskey's brother, George "Mugs" Halas Jr., was the heir apparent for the franchise, but he died suddenly of a heart attack in 1979. As a result, when her father died, McCaskey inherited an incredible nucleus of a team and was the owner when the Bears won Super Bowl XX.[6] However, the team struggled in the 1990s and, since 1999 she has been a very hands-off owner.[7] Her son Michael McCaskey was team president from 1983 to 1999 and was chairman of the board until May 6, 2011, when his brother George McCaskey assumed the position.[8] George McCaskey had been the Bears ticket office director since 1991.[9] Team president Ted Phillips currently has operational control; when he became team president, it marked the first time in the team's history that a Halas or McCaskey had not held that title.[10]

Halas's husband, Ed McCaskey, was previously the chairman and treasurer of the Bears. Although McCaskey never had any official share of ownership, he acted as co-owner alongside his wife before his death in 2003.[11]

On January 21, 2007, she accepted the NFC Championship trophy, which bears her father's name. She called it "her happiest day so far", after the Bears had beaten the New Orleans Saints to earn a trip to Super Bowl XLI.[12]

McCaskey is one of a handful of female NFL owners, including Sheila Ford Hamp (Detroit Lions), Amy Adams Strunk (Tennessee Titans), Kim Pegula (Buffalo Bills), Carol Davis (Las Vegas Raiders), Denise DeBartolo York (San Francisco 49ers), Gayle Benson (New Orleans Saints), Janice McNair (Houston Texans), Jody Allen (Seattle Seahawks), and Dee Haslam (Cleveland Browns).

After the death of Arizona Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill in October 2019, McCaskey became the longest-tenured owner in the NFL.[13]