By now, Cincinnati Bengals fans have probably seen much speculation about a quote from team brass about possibly moving away from downtown or something more dramatic.
The comments, though, have been blown up beyond a much bigger discussion that took part at league meetings this week.
Speaking with reporters early in the week, Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn told The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. that "more urgency" would be nice when it comes to negotiations with the county about the lease and stadium upgrades downtown.
While doing so, Blackburn dropped the hypothetical that has since gone viral.
“We could, I guess, go wherever we wanted after this year if we didn’t pick the option up,” Blackburn told Dehner. “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.”
This comment came in regards to the upcoming two-year extension the team could exercise on June 30. If they don't, the team could, in theory, explore moving on June 30 in 2026.
But it was a hypothetical, with Blackburn merely laying out the scenarios.
More realistically -- and what has been conveniently glossed over by those who picked up the story -- the Bengals can exercise five rolling two-year extensions for the foreseeable future while negotiations with the county proceed.
So while things perhaps aren't close between the county and team right now, the team has plenty of wiggle room to keep picking up those options. Merely laying down the outlook in an interview didn't vibe as veiled threats or attempting to use public leverage in talks.
The only "move" referenced by reporters in the Blackburn interview was taking the team out of downtown and shifting somewhere else in the area -- while she repeatedly stressed the team wants to stay downtown.
Last September, the county unveiled a $1.3 billion renovation proposal and talks continue. If June 30 hits and the team hasn't exercised the rolling extension, then some of these panicked reactions making the rounds would be warranted, but there's little reason to think that happens.
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This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals stadium lease drama, conversation missing key context
