Bidwill Family Ownership

Lore & Background

Bidwill grew up the second of four children in his family, and is the third generation of his family to own the Cardinals. His grandfather, Charles Bidwill, bought the Cardinals in 1933, while they were still in Chicago. When Charles died in 1947, his widow, Violet, inherited the team, moving it to St. Louis in 1960. Upon Violet's death, ownership passed to father Bill and uncle Charles Bidwill Jr., with Bill becoming sole owner in 1971.

Only the Chicago Bears (owned by the Halas-McCaskey family since 1921) and New York Giants (owned by the Mara family since their founding in 1925) have been in the hands of a single family longer than the Cardinals. Bidwill began to enjoy American football at a young age, often attending Cardinals games and practices with his family. In 1974, his father, Bill, made him one of the team's ball boys including his brothers William Jr. and Patrick. Said Bidwill in 2007: 'I understood at a young age that when you don't win, there will be criticism.'

Michael Bidwill attended Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Maryland and later earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Saint Louis University in 1987 where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta. Later, he received his Juris Doctor from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in 1990. Bidwill did not move to Phoenix until after 1990, so he did not follow the Cardinals there in 1988. From 1990 to 1996, he was a federal prosecutor in Phoenix. In 1996, he worked for Bob Dole's presidential campaign.

Reader's Guide

While the Cardinals struggled to fill Sun Devil Stadium, Bidwill publicly stated that fans would respond in greater numbers if given a better environment. He additionally emphasized that the team could not compete without the revenue streams a new stadium would bring. The Cardinals have sold out all 100 games played at State Farm Stadium (originally University of Phoenix Stadium) since the stadium opened in 2006. They sold out 12 total games in 18 seasons at Sun Devil Stadium.

In their first nine seasons at State Farm Stadium, the Cardinals won their division three times, earned three playoff berths and finished .500 or better six times. They had two seasons of .500 or better in their first 18 seasons (1988–2006) since their arrival in Arizona from St. Louis. In 2007, Bill Bidwill named Michael as team president and ceded most day-to-day control over the Cardinals to Michael, making his son operating head of the franchise.

In October 2014, Cardinals general manager Steve Keim called Bidwill 'the glue that holds the organization together.' Quarterback Carson Palmer said 'It's easy to say it's the head coach or the GM. It's the owner,' Palmer said. 'And you would never know it.

He's not doing interviews left and right, but he's picked the right people to hire and he wants to win. … He doesn't have a hand in every decision, cutting this guy, bringing in this guy. He's hired the right people, and he knows it.' In July 2018, Bidwill announced his support for longtime friend and fellow Georgetown Prep classmate Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court Justice nominee. The move generated controversy, as Bidwill used the Arizona Cardinals website and social media outlets to voice his support.

This came just two months after NFL owners voted to restrict NFL players' ability to protest during the national anthem. After his father's death in October 2019, Bidwill succeeded his father as chairman. He is only the sixth principal owner in franchise history; it was founded in 1898 in Chicago as an independent team and was a charter member of the NFL in 1920.

Did You Know?

• In 2014, he was named chair of the NFL's new conduct committee.
• An arbitration ruling in April 2024 ordered the Cardinals to pay $3,000,000 for defamation in response to a former executive's complaint.