With the Bears issuing a non-binding announcement on Friday that they will be advancing with the potential construction of a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana, the Bears want their leverage play against Illinois to not be viewed as the leverage play it is.
Of course it’s a leverage play. If it wasn’t, a deal would already be done to build in Hammond.
Instead, the Bears keep talking to Illinois even as they supposedly focus on Indiana.
It makes sense for the Bears to try to persuade members of the media that Indiana isn’t a leverage play. (It doesn’t make sense for members of the media to swallow the hook, unless it’s a part of a broader quid pro quo for scoops and/or access.) For a leverage play to be effective, it has to be viewed as real. If it’s not viewed as real, the leverage won’t move the needle in Illinois.
The real question isn’t whether Indiana is leverage (because it is) but whether Indiana is a bluff. In other words, are the Bears simply using a potential Hammond move as a way to get the best possible deal in Arlington Heights? (Also, did the Bears initially pivot to Arlington Heights to get the best possible deal in Chicago?)
It’s possible that the Bears, deep down, do not want to leave Chicago, but that the organization concluded at the outset of this process that it’s impossible to build a new stadium in Chicago on terms favorable to the franchise unless the city and the state believe the team may build across the border.
With a move out of the area an impossibility (the placement of two teams in L.A. took away an ideal “or else” threat for two decades of stadium projects), a potential move within the area carries real value. As leverage, and possibly as a bluff.
That’s the thing about a bluff. Admitting it’s a bluff strips the bluff of any value.
Regardless of whether the Bears will actually move to Indiana, the possibility remains leverage for now. If it wasn’t, there would be nothing for the Bears and Illinois to discuss. The mere fact that the two sides are still talking proves conclusively that the Bears are playing Indiana against Illinois — in the same way that they’ve been playing Arlington Heights against Chicago.
Caleb Williams wants to trademark the nickname of one Basketball Hall of Famer, but he wants to be like another.
Williams, who has said he didn’t know George Gervin was the original “Iceman,” paid homage to the greatest athlete in Chicago’s history, Michael Jordan, on the standard cover of Madden NFL 27. The cover, which features Williams’ fourth-down jump pass in the comeback win over the Packers in the wild-card round, asked EA Sports to add the Chicago skyline behind him.
The original 1985 Air Jordan campaign poster showed the Bulls star midair with the sun setting over the Chicago skyline behind him. The Bulls won six championships from 1991-98.
“That’s the position I want to be in, but I also wanted to pay respect to MJ,” Williams said Thursday at the EA Sports season-opening event, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “It was more of a respect thing. Bringing retro back, not letting people forget that and doing it on my side of the world of football. Paying respect to that and him and what he was able to do in Chicago. Just honestly wanted to bring that energy, that vibe back.”
Williams has yet to meet Jordan, but said a meeting is “in the works.”
Williams joins Saquon Barkley, Josh Allen, Christian McCaffrey, Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady and Lamar Jackson as a Madden NFL cover boy. Only Mahomes and Brady have graced the cover more than once, a feat Williams hopes to achieve.
Being on the cover used to bring with it the so-called Madden Curse, with Garrison Hearst, Eddie George, Daunte Culpepper, Michael Vick and Shaun Alexander among those to have a decrease in on-field production or an injury in the ensuing season they were the face of the video game series.
Mahomes, though, won a Super Bowl the first time he was on the cover.
Williams isn’t afraid.
“No more of this Madden curse,” Williams said. “We’re going to go out and do all the things we need to do, stay healthy, do all the things we need to do study film and be prepared each week, and go out there and handle business.”
The deluxe edition of Madden 27 features Williams in a white jersey with falling snowflakes in a nod to the “Iceman” nickname he hopes to take over from Gervin.
With the Bears announcing a plan to proceed with plans to build a new stadium (but with nothing official at this point), Illinois still has a chance to turn things around.
A statement issued by the office of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker makes clear that the door remains open.
“The Bears have built a storied legacy in Illinois for over 100 years but have spent the last six years, and especially the last few months, shifting their position on a stadium location,” the governor’s office said. “That has hindered their progress.
“Today appears to be another instance of that after Illinois leaders have been working with the Bears in good faith. . . . Governor Pritzker has always been clear that he wants the Bears to stay in Illinois and still remains open to a sensible solution that protects taxpayers.”
Time will tell whether the Bears plan to move to Indiana, or whether it’s all a bluff. Until the paperwork is signed for a new stadium in Indiana, nothing is final.
Friday’s announcement from the Bears regarding the intention to move forward with a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana doesn’t mean much, because it’s not binding on the Bears.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson made that point in a statement issued on Friday afternoon.
“Over the last several years the Bears have stated their intentions in multiple jurisdictions, today’s announcement is not surprising,” Johnson said.
“It’s also not surprising that Bears officials have stated this vote does not mean a move to Hammond is a done deal.
“Without a final site selection, until we see shovels in the ground in Hammond, the City of Chicago will continue to engage in discussions grounded in the interests of our residents.”
He’s right. Until the Bears reach the point of no return, there’s a chance they’ll stay in Illinois. And there’s a chance that Friday’s announcement about the Bears is the latest move in a leverage play, aimed at forcing progress in Chicago or Arlington Heights.
The Bears are a step closer to playing their home games across the border in Indiana.
The franchise announced on Friday that the team’s board of directors voted on Thursday to advance the stadium development in Hammond, Indiana. The exact site is still to be selected.
“We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana to the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city,” Bears chairman George McCaskey and president Kevin Warren said in a joint statement. “It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.”
Notably, this is the first time the franchise’s board has voted on any stadium site.
The development comes a few days after the state of Illinois did not pass legislation that would have ensured certainty in the Bears’ property tax for the Arlington Heights, Illinois, stadium site.
Warren has said that he would like the stadium project to be certain by early summer.
This is another step in that process, which would see the Bears play their future home games across state lines. It would give Indiana two franchises, with the Bears joining the Colts.
