Rep. Casar and Sen. Sanders File Bill to Limit Sports Team Relocations

Proposed legislation aims to curb threats of teams leaving cities that don't meet their demands.

Mar. 26, 2026 at 11:05pm

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U.S. Representative Greg Casar of Texas and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont have introduced a new bill in Congress that seeks to limit the ability of professional sports teams to threaten relocation as a tactic to extract public funding or other concessions from local governments. The lawmakers argue this practice has become increasingly common and burdensome for many cities.

Why it matters

Sports team relocations can be highly disruptive and costly for communities, often requiring taxpayer-funded stadium deals or other incentives that divert public resources away from other priorities. This bill is an attempt to rein in what critics see as an abusive practice that holds cities hostage.

The details

The proposed legislation would prohibit professional sports leagues from approving team relocations unless the team can demonstrate that its current home market is unable to adequately support the franchise. It would also ban teams from threatening relocation as a negotiating tactic and impose financial penalties on leagues that allow such threats.

  • The bill was introduced in the U.S. Congress on March 26, 2026.

The players

Rep. Greg Casar

A U.S. Representative from Texas who co-authored the bill to limit sports team relocations.

Sen. Bernie Sanders

A U.S. Senator from Vermont who co-authored the bill to limit sports team relocations.

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What they’re saying

“We must not allow professional sports teams to continue holding cities hostage with the threat of relocation. This practice has become far too common and is draining public resources that should be used for more pressing needs.”

— Rep. Greg Casar

“Cities and taxpayers should not be forced to pay for lavish new stadiums or make other concessions simply because a team owner wants to maximize their profits. This bill is about protecting the interests of local communities.”

— Sen. Bernie Sanders

What’s next

The bill will now be referred to the appropriate congressional committees for consideration and potential markup.

The takeaway

This legislation represents an effort by federal lawmakers to curb what they view as an abusive practice that has allowed professional sports teams to extract public funding and other concessions from cities through the threat of relocation.