With the NFL’s Chicago Bears considering a move to Indiana, a new federal bill would give cities a chance to buy their teams before they leave. The Home Team Act, introduced by US senator Bernie Sanders and US congressman Greg Casar, requires owners of professional sports teams to give local communities a one-year opportunity to purchase the franchise at fair market value before relocating.
“Sports in America should be about more than just making billionaire owners even richer,” Casar said. The bill defines relocation as crossing state lines or moving to a different metropolitan area. During that year, buyers could include private individuals, government entities, companies or community ownership models like that of the Green Bay Packers, which has more than 500,000 shareholders.
The bill responds to the Chicago Bears’ potential move to Hammond, Indiana, after property tax negotiations stalled a planned stadium in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Illinois governor JB Pritzker called the possibility a “slap in the face”, while WWE star CM Punk labelled it “straight greed”. The Bears’ owners bought land in Arlington Heights but have not built due to tax disputes, and Indiana passed a bill authorising funding in Hammond.
Co-sponsor Lateefah Simon, a congresswoman from Oakland, knows the pain of losing teams. Oakland lost the Golden State Warriors, the Raiders and soon the Athletics within seven years, affecting small businesses and cultural identity. Sanders, a Brooklyn native, recalled the 1957 move of his beloved Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles, saying it shaped his anti-corporate politics.
The bill faces steep political obstacles, needing passage through both chambers of Congress and a president with billionaire sports owner allies. Practical questions include how to determine when a relocation process starts and who sets fair market value. The Packers model remains an outlier; most teams are privately owned and relocation is driven by future profits.
