**Breaking News: Joe Sacco, Boston Bruins Head Coach, Turns Down $230 Million Offer From Chicago Bears — “My Passion Lies Here”
By Michael Jennings | Senior Sports Writer | April 28, 2025
Boston, MA — In a sports world increasingly defined by billion-dollar valuations, blockbuster trades, and cross-disciplinary experimentation, the unlikeliest story of the year just broke across two major American sports.
Joe Sacco, the interim head coach of the NHL’s Boston Bruins, has officially **turned down a $230 million offer from the NFL’s Chicago Bears** to join their executive ranks. The proposed role — a blend of head coach, president of football operations, and culture architect — would have made Sacco the highest-paid figure in professional American sports not named Patrick Mahomes.
Instead, Sacco chose loyalty over legacy expansion. In a packed press conference at TD Garden on Monday afternoon, Sacco addressed the rumors with clarity and conviction:
> “The Chicago Bears are a world-class organization. I was flattered, honestly. But I don’t have plans of leaving. Beyond the Bears — beyond anything — my passion lies here, in Boston, with the Bruins. This is where I belong.”
The news has sent shockwaves not only through the NHL and NFL, but through all professional sports, prompting questions about the growing trend of cross-sport recruitment and what truly defines leadership in the modern athletic era.
The Bears’ Bold Gamble
According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the Chicago Bears approached Sacco in early March, shortly after the Bruins surged back into playoff contention under his leadership. The Bears, reeling from years of instability on and off the field, reportedly spent weeks assembling a pitch that drew from corporate strategy, locker room culture, and even analytics philosophy.
Their message? The NFL needs a new kind of leader.
“Sacco wasn’t just a name on a list,” said a senior Bears executive who spoke on condition of anonymity. “He represented a new model of leadership. Someone who understands systems thinking, discipline, player development — and perhaps most important, winning.”
The offer was unlike any in recent memory: a six-year, $230 million contract that combined traditional coaching responsibilities with organizational control. Sacco would not have coached the team on the field, but would have had full say in hiring staff, developing culture programs, and shaping the team’s long-term strategy — both on the football side and across the organization’s business units.