Roger Goodell's Hail Mary to Keep the Bears in Illinois is Unlikely to Work

The Chicago Bears' stadium saga has now dragged on long enough that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is officially getting involved. According to NFL journalist Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, Roger Goodell spoke to the media on Wednesday after the owners' meeting and said that Illinois still has an opportunity to keep the Bears.

"There’s no specific timetable from my standpoint, other than we know that they are looking at the alternate groups, Indiana or Arlington Heights," Goodell said. "I’m involved in a lot of stadium efforts. It’s not unusual for me to be involved in conversations with either public officials or others... There are important decisions, not just for the communities but for teams and the NFL."

Sure, the Bears may still be looking at Arlington Heights as a possible location. They purchased a 326-acre lot and bulldozed the existing structures there back in 2023, after all. But the state of Indiana has already given the Bears tens of millions of reasons to rid themselves of that sunk cost, and a Hail Mary attempt from Goodell to keep the Bears in Illinois seems unlikely to be enough.

Indiana has already rolled out the red carpet for the Bears

Kevin Warren, Ryan Poles, Ben Johnson, and George McCaskey. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

After years of frustrating, fruitless negotiations with the state of Illinois, the Bears began exploring a move into Indiana back in December, and Indiana struck quickly. By February, the state legislature passed a stadium bill while Chicago tried to shake down the Bears, a bill that Indiana governor Mike Braun quickly signed. They had done in a matter of weeks what Illinois proved incapable of doing in years.

By establishing the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority, the state of Indiana rolled out a red carpet for the Bears. The team would have access to all the usual financial levers available to every other team that builds a new stadium, including the kind of tax certainty that has been at the center of negotiations with Illinois.

Everything the Bears need to begin construction on a new stadium is now in hand, and they would only have to move a stone's throw across the Indiana border (the proposed Wolf Lake area quite literally sits on the Illinois-Indiana border, roughly 18 miles from Soldier Field). Meanwhile, Illinois refuses to call a special session, which means they can't expect a new vote on a stadium deal until their regular November session.

You just don't see may business dealings as lopsided as this. One side has a clear and concrete proposal and is eager to work with the Bears, and the other side negotiates with what can only be described as restrained contempt. Why would team president Kevin Warren and chairman George McCaskey continue negotiating in good faith with Illinois after this taste of working with a competent state government?

The Bottom Line

A general view of Soldier Field with the Chicago skyline. Mandatory Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

I understand why Goodell, along with millions of Bears fans, would want the team to stay in Illinois. The very idea of the Bears residing in Indiana, even if just within spitting distance of the border, has been met with hostility and mockery across the NFL world. If the Chicago Bears can't stay in Chicago itself, they should at least remain in Illinois, so the argument goes.

But this drama surrounding the Bears' original plan for an Arlington Heights stadium has gone long enough. If Illinois' state government really wanted to keep the Bears, they would have gotten a deal done by now. They would at least show a sense of urgency to get a stadium project going. But even in the face of Indiana's aggressive push for the Bears, Illinois seems unbothered by the prospect of losing their historic NFL franchise.

I just don't see why smart businessmen like Warren or McCaskey would pass on Indiana's offer at this point. They may not like the idea of moving to Indiana, but it's far and away the best decision for the team. A Hail Mary broke the Bears in their 2024 season, and Goodell's Hail Mary isn't likely to fare much better in 2026.

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