Buyer Wants Belushi, Cusack, Murray In on Cubs Deal

Would-be Cubs buyer Tom Ricketts has approached a bunch of baseball-loving celebrities, including Bill Murray, Jim Belushi, and John Cusack, about going in with him on the team, the Chicago Tribune reports. Ricketts is asking each to pitch in $25 million, say sources—who add that Ricketts doesn’t need the money to close the deal with the Tribune Company.

Banks have already agreed to lend Ricketts $450 million to finance the purchase, and he’s raised another $400 million by selling shares of TD Ameritrade, which his father founded. The major snags in a deal now are the Cubs’ radio and television rights, currently tied up in potentially below-market contracts with the Tribune-owned WGN stations. (More Tribune Company stories.)