Latest news with #GeorgeHalasTrophy
USA Today
12-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
49ers duo among top 25 in NFL performance-based pay
49ers duo among top 25 in NFL performance-based pay Two San Francisco 49ers were among the top 25 NFL players in performance-based pay for the 2024 NFL season. 49ers guard Dominick Puni earned $898,036 in performance-based pay and San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy earned $857,842. Those two performance-based pay earnings ranked 11th and 16th in the NFL respectively. Puni, a third-round selection out of Kansas in the 2024 NFL draft, started all 17 games for the 49ers during his rookie campaign at right guard. According to Pro Football Focus, Puni earned an offensive grade of 80.5, including a run blocking grade of 81.5 and a pass blocking grade of 68.9. The 6-foot-5, 313 pound offensive lineman was named to the Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team. Meanwhile, Purdy played in and started 15 games for the 49ers. Purdy completed 65.9% of his passes for 3,864 yards with 20 passing touchdowns against 12 interceptions. The 6-foot-1, 220 pound signal-caller also rushed for 323 yards and five scores. Purdy just completed his second full season as the 49ers' starting quarterback after taking over midway through the 2022 campaign where he guided San Francisco to the NFC Championship game before sustaining an elbow injury early in that contest against Philadelphia. Purdy returned from the injury in 2023 and garnered his first Pro Bowl nod, passing for 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns as he led the 49ers to the George Halas Trophy and an overtime loss in Super Bowl LVIII.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chicago Bears owner Virginia Halas McCaskey dies at 102
Virginia Halas McCaskey, owner of the Chicago Bears and daughter of team founder George "Papa Bear" Halas, has died. She was 102. The Bears announced McCaskey's death Thursday morning. "While we are sad, we are comforted knowing Virginia Halas McCaskey lived a long, full, faith-filled life and is now with the love of her life on earth,' the family said in a release from the team. 'She guided the Bears for four decades and based every business decision on what was best for Bears players, coaches, staff and fans.' NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said McCaskey left a legacy of "class, dignity and humanity." "Faith, family, and football — in that order —– were her north stars and she lived by the simple adage to always 'do the right thing,'" Goodell said. "The Bears that her father started meant the world to her and he would be proud of the way she continued the family business with such dedication and passion." McCaskey was born in Chicago in 1923 to Halas and his wife, Min, and was the couple's oldest child and only daughter. She went to Drexel University, where she met her future husband, Edward McCaskey. The couple married in 1943 and lived out East for a few years before returning to Chicago in 1949. While McCaskey was a stay-at-home mother, her husband began working with the Bears at his father-in-law's request in 1967. But when her younger brother, George "Mugs" Halas, died suddenly in 1979 and her father died in 1983, McCaskey found herself as the owner of the Bears. "She never sought the spotlight. She understood the importance of emphasizing to family members how important the legacy of the franchise was, not in terms of money or value, but in terms of what the team meant to people in Chicago and beyond," the team said in its statement. — Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) February 6, 2025 McCaskey might have kept a low profile, but she was a passionate fan. After the Bears went 5-11 in 2014, leading to the dismissals of coach Marc Trestman and general manager Phil Emery, her son George, the Bears chairman, said McCaskey was "pissed off." "At one point in our conversations, I asked her for her assessment of our season, and she said, as only a mother can, 'I'm very, very disappointed,'' George McCaskey said then. Though the Bears have been a disappointment in recent decades, McCaskey saw them reach the Super Bowl twice and win it all in the 1985 season. When the Bears beat the New Orleans Saints to make Super Bowl 41, McCaskey beamed as she accepted the George Halas Trophy, named for her father and given to the NFC champions. "It's beautiful," she said at the time. "Just beautiful." McCaskey was a hands-off owner, leaving most decisions about the team to family members and trusted advisers. But even as the NFL became a multibillion dollar enterprise, she and the McCaskeys still saw the Bears as a team they had stewardship over more than owned. McCaskey grew close with several long-tenured players and their families, treating them as if they were her extended family. In a tribute posted on X, Jarrett Payton, Pro Football Hall of Famer Walter Payton's son, called McCaskey "one of the kindest, most loving, & thoughtful individuals I've ever had the privilege to meet." "You always welcomed my family into yours with open arms, treating us as if we were your own," he wrote. "Our hearts are heavy, & our thoughts & prayers are with the entire McCaskey family during this difficult time," Payton said in the post, including a photo of him and McCaskey and another of the Bears matriarch with him, sister Brittney and their children. Rest in peace, Virginia McCaskey, one of the kindest, most loving, & thoughtful individuals I've ever had the privilege to meet. You always welcomed my family into yours with open arms, treating us as if we were your own. Our hearts are heavy, & our thoughts & prayers are with… — Jarrett Payton (@paytonsun) February 6, 2025 McCaskey also was a driving force in the Bears' charitable efforts. Bears Care, founded in 2005, has distributed more than $31.5 million to benefit education, youth sports, medical research and health awareness. She also supported several programs personally. "At the core of everything she did was Mrs. McCaskey's faith. A devout Catholic, she always reflected on what God would want her to do in daily life," the team statement said. "She focused on trying to help encourage people to be better to one another and once stated she was always working on her faith through good times and bad." It's not clear what will happen to the Bears with McCaskey's death. Nine of McCaskey's 11 children are still alive, and George McCaskey has been the team's chairman since 2011. McCaskey also had 21 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. This story has been updated with new information. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Virginia Halas McCaskey, Bears matriarch and owner, dies at 102
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Eagles reach fifth Super Bowl and second in 3 seasons, will face Chiefs
Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles are running back to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years and fifth time in franchise history. Barkley had another 60-yard touchdown run plus two other rushing scores, and Jalen Hurts also rushed for three TDs to help the Eagles beat the Washington Commanders 55-23 in the NFC championship game on Sunday. Philadelphia will play the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9 in New Orleans in a Super Bowl rematch: Patrick Mahomes rallied the Chiefs to a 38-35 victory over the Eagles two years ago in Arizona. Kansas City is seeking to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls. Barkley finished with 118 yards rushing, including his third TD from 60 yards or more in two weeks. No other player has three TDs of at least 60 yards in a playoff career. 'I always dreamed about it but the dream wasn't about just getting there, it was to win it,' Barkley said of the Super Bowl. Playing with an injured knee, Hurts threw for 246 yards and one touchdown to go with his three rushing scores. 'How about our quarterback,' coach Nick Sirianni shouted from the stage after the presentation of the George Halas Trophy. 'He's a stud. I knew he would play that way. I knew it. Don't doubt him. All he does is win.' The 55 points Philadelphia scored are the most by any team in a conference championship game since the 1970 merger. The Eagles (17-3) are aiming for their second Super Bowl title in five tries. Backup quarterback Nick Foles led them to a 41-33 victory over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots seven years ago. Foles presented owner Jeffrey Lurie with the Halas trophy. 'We're there to win it,' Lurie said about going back to the Super Bowl. The Commanders (14-6) had three fumbles that led to 21 points and were too much even for Jayden Daniels to overcome. Following an impressive season, the rookie quarterback who led several comeback wins fell short in Washington's first conference championship game in 33 years. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
