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Arizona Cardinals Team

Team Owner Michael Bidwill 2020 Staff Headshot

Michael J. Bidwill

Owner

Biography

NoteCARDS:

  • After 13 seasons (2007-19) as team president, Bidwill became owner following the passing of his father, Bill, in 2019. Michael continues a tradition of Bidwill ownership of the Cardinals that dates back to his grandfather, Hall of Famer Charles Bidwill in 1933.
  • Since taking over as team president in 2007, Bidwill's leadership has transformed the Cardinals both on and off the field. Of the franchise's seven all-time postseason wins, five have come with Michael leading the organization. Arizona has played in nine postseason contests over the last 14 seasons, after having appeared in just seven total playoff games prior.
  • Arizona has appeared in the NFC Championship Game twice since 2008 including a victory in the 2008 conference title game that led to the franchise's first-ever Super Bowl appearance (Super Bowl XLIII).
  • Among Bidwill's most substantial accomplishments with the Cardinals is the creation of State Farm Stadium. The world-class venue has proved a critical turning point for the franchise, an economic engine for the state of Arizona, and most recently, a crucial resource in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Since State Farm Stadium opened in 2006 it has hosted two Super Bowls (with a third – Super Bowl LVII – set to cap the 2022 season) and the Cardinals have sold out 144 games at the venue (which is every non-pandemic game played there).
  • In addition to his role in helping Arizona land Super Bowls XLII, XLIX and LVII Michael was also instrumental in getting the 2015 Pro Bowl moved to State Farm Stadium; played a week before Super Bowl XLIX, the two events combined to deliver a record economic impact of $720 million to the region.
  • State Farm Stadium served as a critical site since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The venue hosted three blood drives at the beginning of the outbreak and in 2021 it became one of the first, and most successful, mass vaccination site in the nation. Between January and April, more than 800,000 COVID-19 vaccines were administered at State Farm Stadium, which accounted for nearly 20% of the total doses administered in Arizona during that period.
  • Through Bidwill's leadership, the Cardinals have taken a lead role in a host of initiatives to assist those impacted by the pandemic. The team made a $1 million foundation donation to Arizona Coronavirus Relief Fund and also joined with State Farm to donate one million meals to local food banks. To support local businesses, the team donated $100,000 to non-profit Local First Arizona and also set up the Cards Carryout initiative to promote local restaurants in the state.
  • He oversaw the team's appearance in the ground-breaking Amazon Original series All or Nothing: A Season with the Arizona Cardinals. Produced by NFL Films, the eight-episode series was awarded the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Serialized Sports Documentary in May of 2017.
  • In January of 2018, Michael was one of five owners named to the NFL's Player-Owner Committee focused on social and racial justice initiatives. In December of 2014, Commissioner Roger Goodell tapped Bidwill to chair the league's Conduct Committee. The committee reviews the league's Personal Conduct Policy at least annually and recommends appropriate changes with advice from outside experts.
  • In January of 2016, the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame inducted Bidwill and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey into the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame.

Michael Bidwill practiced law for six years as a federal prosecutor but in 1996 returned to the team for which he had once been a ball boy. He represents his family's third generation of franchise leadership, following in the footsteps of grandfather Charles - a Pro Football Hall of Famer who purchased the team in 1933 - and his dad Bill, who handled day-to-day operations for decades.

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