Opinion: Michael Bidwill needs to sell the Arizona Cardinals

The Bidwill family has owned the Arizona Cardinals since their Chicago days, dating back to 1933. And they’ve been a disaster nearly every season since.

From their refusal to acknowledge the Pottsville Maroons as the 1925 NFL Champions (the issue is more important than you think) to playing second-fiddle to the Chicago Bears, to owning just one measly earned NFL Championship (1947) across what will be 91 seasons of ownership, the Bidwill family has been a disaster. Seriously, can we name even a handful of positives that they’ve done for this franchise?

Since the Bidwills took over the team in 1933, the Cardinals are one of few pro sports franchises to have relocated twice. Once in 1960, when it became clear their cross-town rivals, the Bears, were the far more popular of the two franchises, and again in 1988, when the St. Louis (Football) Cardinals realized they couldn’t draw enough fans to games. 

Here are a few things to note: One NFC Championship (2008), five division championships in the Super Bowl era (1974, 75, 2008, 09, 15), nine playoff appearances, and six playoff wins since 1970. Look throughout the four North American pro sports leagues, and you will find few franchises whose meager numbers match the Bidwill-owned Cardinals. 

And while the Cardinals have had some decent seasons lately, particularly 2008, 2009, and 2015, the incumbent Bidwill has done little differently than his father and grandfather. So why keep doing this?

It’s time for Michael Bidwill to sell the Arizona Cardinals

Recently, Revenge of the Birds polled the Red Sea, curious, no doubt, to see what they felt about Bidwill. Of the fans polled, an astounding 63% of them would love to see Bidwill put the team up for sale. And why not? This poor play has been going on for nearly a century, save for about 10% of their seasons, and that’s a generous figure. 

Then came their infamous report card, courtesy of the NFLPA earlier this offseason. In case you didn’t read it, the Cards ranked an unhealthy 31st in the 32-team league, scoring F’s (or worse) in the following categories: Treatment of families, food service, weight and training rooms, and the locker room. 

While the franchise has sought to make improvements, you need to wonder how, in an age where the league has prioritized pristine treatment of players, Bidwill let this drag on for so long. I mean, does he not tour his own team’s facilities and know what’s going on? After that report card, it makes you wonder. 

Overall, a plethora of reasons exist for why Bidwill needs to sell this team to a more suitable buyer (Larry Fitzgerald, anyone?). But as it stands, the reasons I’ve listed above, plus the fact nearly two-thirds of Arizona Cardinals fans want him out, it should give Bidwill more than enough reason to sell. 

Source: SB Nation Reacts: Majority of Arizona Cardinals fans are ready for Michael Bidwill to sell the team by Seth Cox, RevengeOfTheBirds.com.