NFL team’s $4.7bn relocation branded a ‘bluff’ as cash-strapped owners gamble on hometown U-turn

All signs point to the Chicago Bears moving across the border to Hammond, Indiana.

Bears chairman George H. McCaskey and president & CEO Kevin Warren released a statement on Friday revealing their plans to commence on a ‘world-class stadium project’ away from Soldier Field in Illinois.

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The project is expected to cost upward of $4.7 billion, with the Indiana lawmakers having approved a hefty financing plan.

There was an option at one point to remain in Illinois and move upstate to redevelop the former Arlington International Racecourse and convert it into a domed arena and mixed-use development.

But Illinois lawmakers, despite their best efforts, were unable to find a solution which didn’t heavily impact the state’s taxpayers.

An eleventh-hour legislative proposal cleared the state Senate, but was unable to be voted on by the House before it went out of session for the summer on May 31.

But not so fast.

Some around the NFL hold the belief that the Bears brass, despite having formally announced their intentions to go ahead with the development project in Indiana, may be pulling off the ultimate bluff.

Insider Mike Florio is just one voice around the league who has expressed skepticism over Chicago’s latest stadium proposal.

“I think Indiana has always been a leverage play. I think it’s always been a bluff. I think Arlington Heights has always been a bluff,” Florio said in an interview with 104.3 The Score on Friday.

“Now, I know they bought that property, but I think they want to be in Chicago. .. I think behind the scenes, the Bears would like to stay in Chicago if they can. They just know how difficult it’s going to be.

“That’s what’s resulted in this meandering and extended process to try to set it up. And maybe the end result of what’s happened over the past few weeks, the Bears now have a chance to to try to work something out to keep the new stadium in Chicago, where I believe it absolutely should be.”

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McCaskey’s using proposed Indiana move as leverage to get better deal in Chicago?

An argument has been made, however, that the McCaskey family don’t have the capital to be able to dangle the possibility of moving to Indiana as leverage into trying to get a better deal out of those in Chicago.

Despite being valued at an estimated $8.9 billion, the Bears are considered as cash poor, though they are deemed asset rich, in comparison to other NFL owners due to the majority of the family’s wealth being put into the team.

In fact, their liquid capital is estimated at around $1.3 billion, which actually sees them rank 29th in the list of richest NFL owners.

For context on the disparity between the McCaskey’s and other family ownership groups in the NFL, the Hunt Family who own the Kansas City Chiefs have a net worth estimated at $24.8 billion.

Therefore, this begs the question – can the Bears really afford to hold such leverage over Chicago and the state of Illinois, especially having already purchased the site in Arlington Heights?

“There are two explanations,” Florio responded when discussing whether the Bears have the liquid to be able to hold the leverage on the Arlington Heights property.

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“Either there’s a method to the apparent madness we’ve witnessed over the past several years, or it’s just madness.

“When you when you think about it, you buy this property at Arlington Heights and you don’t buy it with an understanding of how you’re going to handle the exorbitant property taxes. You’re just going to figure that out as you go.

“So, it is possible that all of this and that the Bears have embraced the appearance that they don’t really have a plan when the reality is they’ve got a plan that is operating at a much higher level than their apparent plan and that plan has a goal of building a stadium in Chicago.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to give them too much credit. But it ends up that they build a stadium in Chicago, they’re geniuses. Whether it was deliberate or accidental, they’re still geniuses.”

Only time will tell, and the answer may come sooner than later with the state of Indiana of the belief that they will receive an official answer by the end of the month.

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