ST. LOUIS – With the Cincinnati Bengals’ lease at Paycor Stadium set to expire in 2026, the team’s future in Cincinnati faces uncertainty as ongoing negotiations with Hamilton County have stalled.

Amid questions surrounding the team’s future in Cincinnati, there is increasing speculation among fans that the team could consider relocating to St. Louis.

According to CBS Sports, the Cincinnati Bengals’ lease at Paycor Stadium is set to expire on June 30, 2026. As the date approaches, the team faces another important deadline as they must decide whether to pick up one of five two-year extension options by June 30 to extend the lease for a short period. If the option isn’t exercised this year, the Bengals will be free to explore different cities to relocate to after the 2025 season.

The Bengals have played at Paycor Stadium along the banks of the Ohio River since 2000. The team has become popular across the league recently, in part because of the arrival of former LSU players and teammates, Quarterback Joe Burrow and Wide Receiver Ja’Marr Chase.

During the annual NFL meetings in early April, Bengals Executive Vice President Katie Blackburn hinted at the possibility that the team might be willing to consider a potential move to a different city if a long-term deal isn’t agreed upon by both sides.

“We could, I guess, go wherever we wanted after this year if we didn’t pick the option up,” Blackburn said. “So, you know, 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.”

Although it’s unknown whether the Bengals are considering St. Louis as a possible relocation destination, many are speculating about the factors in St. Louis that might entice the Bengals to relocate there. In fact, according to NBC Sports, Bengals Owner Mike Brown has spoken out against the move and was rumored as one of two owners to vote against the Rams move out of St. Louis to Los Angeles.

“There’s nothing wrong with the markets where these teams play now,” Brown said during a meeting in 2015.

St. Louis has now gone nearly a decade without an NFL team in the city, as the St. Louis Rams moved to Los Angeles at the end of the 2015 NFL season. Despite the loss, the city has maintained a popular football presence, with the addition of the UFL’s Battlehawks.

It is unknown if the City of St. Louis would be interested in a reunion with the NFL after the Rams departure to Los Angeles. When asked about the potential for another professional sports team in the city of St. Louis during a media briefing on April 10, Mayor Cara Spencer said the idea is a “worthwhile consideration.”

FOX 2 reached out to the St. Louis Mayor’s Office for a comment on the idea of another NFL team but has not heard anything back.