AJ Hawk weighs in on Bengals relocating out of Cincinnati amid $1,200,000,000 renovation plan

Modified Apr 04, 2025 02:55 GMT

2024 American Century Championship - Day One - Source: Getty — AJ Hawk believes that the Bengals could really move out of Cincinnati - Source: Getty

The Cincinnati Bengals could be moving to a new home as soon as 2026. The franchise has a lease on its home, Paycor Stadium, expiring on June 30, 2026; however, they can extend the lease for two more years if they exercise an option before June 30, 2025.

Relocating a franchise is never an easy process. However, based on the recent remarks from Cincinnati's executive vice-president, Katie Blackburn, this could be a reality.

Speaking on Thursday's Pat McAfee's show, former Green Bay Packers linebacker AJ Hawk, who also had one year in Cincinnati, shed some light on the current situation regarding a possible relocation from the Bengals:

These stadium negotiations have been going on behind the scenes for a few years now over shared revenue, or how other events can happen in the stadium. And I think, Hamilton County, they proposed a $1.2B renovation plan, and now the Bengals have been going back and forth, trying to figure out who pays for it, how much you pay for it, and then, who gets the split.

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Mike Brown is considered one of the NFL owners with the least money. The Brown family has owned the franchise for a long time, but unlike many other owners, their fortune did not grow due to other businesses that made them rich.

Katie Blackburn hints at possible Bengals relocation from Cincinnati

The situation between the franchise and Hamilton County has been tense for some time, according to reports. As such, she hinted at the possibility of Mike Brown's team exploring relocation to another city:

"We play it day by day, and like everything else, we just continue to have discussions, see where things are, and then have to make decisions at the appropriate time. We could, I guess, go wherever we wanted after this year if we didn’t pick the up option up”

The franchise was established in 1968 and has been in the city ever since. A relocation is always a difficult process for all factors involved, but especially for Bengals fans who have experienced success in recent years.

The franchise has Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins on long-term deals.

About the author

Henrique Bulio is an NFL and College Football journalist at Sportskeeda and the Editor-in-Chief of Pro Football Brasil. He has a total 13 years of experience working in American Football, and playing quarterback at an amateur level in Brazil has given him a unique perspective of the game.

Henrique follows the Philadelphia Eagles closely due to Michael Vick's historic performance on MNF against the Washington Commanders in 2010. His all-time favorite player is Ed Reed; he believes that Reed is the greatest safety to ever play the game. Bill Belichick gets the nod as Henrique's favorite coach for coaching the Patriots to glory over two decades.

If Henrique were to be able to go back in time and watch one game, it would be Super Bowl XLIX, where the Patriots and the Seahawks played a complete, back-and-forth game that concluded with one of the biggest talking points in NFL history.

Technical deep dives are Henrique’s specialty, and he ensures never to use misleading words in his articles, since he himself consumes a lot of information off the web. He has had the privilege of interviewing Cairo Santos, Lamar Jackson, Jim Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Bruce Arians, Matt LaFleur, among others.

Aside from football, Henrique likes to play poker and Counter-Strike.

Know More

Bengals Nation! Check out the latest Cincinnati Bengals Schedule and dive into the Bengals Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer