Michael Bidwill is known as one of the most hands-on owners in the NFL. Growing up around the players, Bidwill has always been the face of the Arizona Cardinals organization. Owing to his long-standing family ties in the business, he has a passion for football running through his veins.
Despite a very successful family business, which we’ll get into in a bit, Bidwill completed a law degree and practiced as a federal prosecutor for six years before officially joining the Cardinals in 1966 as a general counsel and vice president. After spending 13 seasons as president from 2007-2019, Michael officially took over as an owner in 2019 after his father, Bill Bidwill, passed away.
What’s Bidwill’s net worth, and how successful has his family been along the way?
What Is Michael Bidwill’s Wealth?
Bidwill’s net worth is $1.4 billion. The Cardinals’ owner is the third generation in the family to run the business. His story of getting rich and buying an NFL team is a bit different than most of the owners’, but it resembles the Chicago Bears and New York Giants, as all three of them inherited their teams from wealthy families.
The Bidwill family has been in the NFL business since 1933 and has seen many relocations from Chicago to St. Louis to Arizona. Michael Bidwill got the ownership from his father, Bill; he got it from his father, Charles Bidwill, who is actually the one who brought the family into the NFL landscape.
Who Was Charles Bidwill?
To many people’s surprise, Charles bought the Cardinals for just $50,000, and yet they’re worth $3.8 billion now. However, before purchasing the team, Charles was a successful businessman and a lawyer living in Chicago with alleged ties to Al Capone.
In addition, the elder Bidwill owned a racing stable and a printing company and was the president of the Chicago Stadium Operating Company.
Who Was Michael Bidwill’s Father, Bill Bidwill?
Charles passed on the Cardinals’ ownership to his sons Bill and Charles Jr. The brothers co-owned the franchise for 10 seasons before taking full ownership in 1972. Bill and his brother Charles were adopted by the Cardinals’ current owners, Charles Sr. and his wife Violet.
Bill Bidwill was known to run the organization stingily, as the Cardinals’ employees had one of the lowest paychecks in the league for many years.
However, once the owner revamped the team’s expenses, the Cardinals started seeing results. In 2008, Arizona won its first division title since 1975, followed by two more division crowns in 2009 and 2015.
Bidwill’s Philanthropy With the Cardinals
While Bidwill’s net worth soars, the 59-year-old businessman has taken several initiatives to give back to the community with his wealth. During the pandemic, the team donated $100,000 to the organization Local First Arizona. The State Farm Stadium in Glendale also hosted three crucial blood drives in the COVID era, becoming the most successful vaccination site in the country.
Even though the Cardinals don’t win as many games as, say, the Kansas City Chiefs, Bidwill has successfully made the team a well-oiled machine for making money. A huge chunk of their income with the Cardinals is owed to their University of Phoenix Stadium, which makes $200 million a year.