Chicago acquired tackle Ed Healey from the Rock Island…
Chicago acquired tackle Ed Healey from the Rock Island Independents in 1922 for $100. Bears and Hall of Fame histories identify the transaction as an early player sale, while contemporary-account summaries describe additional terms around the payment. Whatever the precise contractual mechanics, Healey stayed with Chicago through 1927, became a perennial top lineman, and entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame, producing extraordinary value for the Bears.
Chicago Bears Received
- player Ed Healey
Rock Island Independents Received
- other $100 cash consideration
Trade Analysis
What Changed Hands
Chicago acquired tackle Ed Healey from the Rock Island Independents in November 1922 for $100. The outgoing item should therefore be recorded as cash consideration, not as a player. Bears historical material describes the move as the club's first purchase of a player from another team, and Hall of Fame material also identifies a $100 sale. Surviving accounts differ on some of the contractual mechanics surrounding that payment and Healey's future rights.
Why the Value Moved
Whatever form the original agreement took, the lasting football result is not in doubt. Healey stayed with the Bears through 1927 and developed into one of the leading tackles of the early NFL. He was later elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Rock Island received only the $100 consideration and did not regain Healey. That creates an extraordinary disparity between a small cash payment and multiple seasons from an elite player at a time when franchise finances and player movement worked very differently from the modern league.
How the Outcome Looks
The historical nuance matters because describing this as a modern-style straight cash sale oversimplifies the surviving accounts. One period-based account describes a $100 arrangement with provisions involving Healey's status after the 1922 season, while later Halas recollections framed the payment differently. Those differences justify medium confidence on the precise mechanics. They do not change the core asset movement: Healey left Rock Island for Chicago, $100 went the other way, and Healey remained a Bear.
Final Verdict
Chicago Bears Win. Chicago receives an A+ because a $100 outlay produced a Hall of Fame tackle and several seasons of high-level play. Rock Island receives a D because the monetary return was tiny compared with the player value that departed. The corrected asset type is important: '$100 cash consideration' reflects what Rock Island received without pretending the historical sources agree on every contractual detail behind the transfer.