Is The NFL Steering The Chicago Bears Away From Indiana? Here’s The Evidence

The Chicago Bears have made every effort, at least in the public eye, to be full speed ahead on building a stadium in Hammond, Indiana. That is where their “focus” has been for months after legislation to build in Arlington Heights faltered during the spring session. If you take the words of team president Kevin Warren and owner George McCaskey at face value, Indiana is happening. There is nothing left to discuss with Illinois. However, one NFL insider believes that may not be their decision.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, like others, heard that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently met with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. That was a rather interesting development. If Indiana were as serious as the Bears claim, wouldn’t Goodell have met with Governor Mike Braun instead? Florio seems to think there is a very real possibility the NFL will veto the team’s move to Indiana. There are various reasons, including environmental concerns, an underwhelming landscape, encroaching on Indianapolis Colts territory, and a desire to keep a team in the country’s sixth-most-populous state.

“He could be saying to the Bears, ‘Look, we’ve looked at Hammond. You’re not moving this team to Hammond. You’re not. It’s not happening. You can bluff all you want, but when push comes to shove, at least 23 other owners would have to approve this move. They’re not going to approve a relocation of one of the key historic franchises, which has only ever played its home games in Chicago or in Illinois, to cross the border to Indiana. So, have your fun, try to conjure leverage with this, but we’re not going to let you do it.’ And that’s something they’re never going to declare publicly because it blows up the leverage to the extent that the leverage has any value to it.”

This would certainly explain the lack of any Chicago Bears decision.

Everything comes back to one important point. If Indiana’s offer were as good as their people continue to insist it is, the Bears would’ve accepted it long ago. Instead, they’ve drawn the process out far longer than any other team has. There are NFL franchises that announced new stadium plans after the Bears and have already begun construction. Nothing about this process suggests that Indiana has the upper hand, no matter what the team says. There are some fundamental truths they can’t escape.

For one, they’ve always called Illinois home. It’s been that way since the franchise’s inception. Upending a partnership like that over a century feels wrong. More presently, we must not forget they already own a massive property in Illinois. Arlington Heights has been bulldozed. Negotiations with local governments have been conducted. Everybody is on board. The only thing standing in the way is legislation to give them property tax breaks and infrastructure support. What do the Bears do with that property if they up and move to Indiana?

That’s $200 million down the drain.

How serious is the NFL about blocking an Indiana move?

That is the unknown quantity right now. All we do know is that Goodell met with Illinois politicians. That signals the league would prefer the Bears stay in Illinois. Arlington Heights is a better property. It’s in a far more populous region with better infrastructure. It also doesn’t sit in a polluted industrial region like Hammond does. The choice isn’t a difficult one from that perspective. Goodell is a highly experienced executive who has rubbed shoulders with some of the most powerful men and women in the country. He knows how to speak their language.

Perhaps he can get a gauge on what the holdup is and help the Chicago Bears put together a proposal that finally breaks the deadlock. It certainly couldn’t hurt. Warren and McCaskey have stumbled through the process for long enough. Fans just want a decision at this point. They too prefer the team to stay in Illinois. An intervention from the NFL might be enough to get things moving again.