The Bengals Could Be On the Move from Cincinnati?

The Cincinnati Bengals are coming up to a deadline. They have to exercise their option to renew their lease with Hamilton County on the Paycor Stadium by June 30.

Should the Bengals not exercise the option, they are free to leave the stadium after June 30, 2026. In the event the Bengals leave Paycor Stadium, they could in theory relocate out of Cincinnati.

During the NFL annual meetings in early April, executive vice president Katie Blackburn indicated if a deal could not be reached, they could move to a new city and would have plenty of options.

“We could, I guess, go wherever we wanted after this year if we didn’t pick the option up,” Blackburn said. “So, you know, we’ll see. Like I said, all these things will be done in due course. We are having discussions, and so we’re hopeful that the county is thinking about it a lot too and wants to get it addressed in a way that would be beneficial to both of us.”

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com has written about the team moving to Chicago, which is a complete construction of his imagination.

How about St. Louis?

Should the negotiations not work out for the Bengals, one outlet suggests the Bengals could move to St. Louis.

Sounds like quite a story. But ...

It seems that the origin of the tale, once revealed is wobbly and political.

Recently, St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer was asked about the idea of the city luring another pro sports team to the area where the Cardinals and the Rams once played.

Spencer replied - in a most off-the-cuff manner - that the idea is a “worthwhile consideration.” ... making it sound as if the reporter had given it much more thought that the politician.