Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) today introduced the Home Team Act, legislation to require owners of professional sports teams to give local communities the chance to buy teams before relocating them.
Introduce and support legislation to require owners of professional sports teams to give local communities the chance to buy teams at a fair price before relocating them.
Occurrences
U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Representative Greg Casar (D-Texas) in introducing the Home Team Act, bicameral legislation to require owners of professional sports teams to give local communities the chance to buy teams before relocating them.
Mr. Sanders (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Murphy) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Evidence
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) introduced the Home Team Act, legislation to require owners of professional sports teams to give local communities the chance to buy teams before relocating them.
U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Representative Greg Casar (D-Texas) in introducing the Home Team Act, bicameral legislation to require owners of professional sports teams to give local communities the chance to buy teams before relocating them.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) introduced legislation requiring professional sports team owners to give local governments and investors a chance to buy their teams before relocating.
The Home Team Act, introduced by Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, would require team owners looking to move to first offer the franchise to local buyers.
U.S. Rep. Greg Casar (D-Austin) and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) have introduced federal legislation that would require owners of ... .
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Greg Casar (D-Texas) have introduced legislation that would require owners of ... local communities a chance to buy the franchise before moving it.
US Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar introduced a bill that would require owners of professional ... franchises who are considering relocating to give the communities in which they are located a chance to buy the teams first.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, introduced the Home Team Act, which would require team ownership to provide one year of notice before moving a team to a new location and give local communities the ability to purchase the team at a fair price.
GovInfo’s official bill record for S. 4272 shows Senator Bernard Sanders introduced the Home Team Act of 2026, which was read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
GovInfo’s official House bill record for H.R. 8097 shows the Home Team Act of 2026 was introduced in the House and referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, with Sanders’s Senate counterpart matching the same legislative push.
GovInfo lists S. 4272, the Home Team Act of 2026, sponsored by Bernard Sanders of Vermont. The official action says Sanders introduced the bill on March 26, 2026, and it was read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; the page still lists March 26, 2026 as the last action date.
The introduced Senate text states that a franchise owner may not move a franchise from its home community, move it across state lines, or eliminate it unless the owner offers specified local entities a fair opportunity to purchase the franchise. It also requires an offer at fair market value and acceptance of an offer meeting a fair price determined by appraisers.
GovInfo lists H.R. 8097, the Home Team Act of 2026, introduced in the House by Greg Casar on March 26, 2026 and referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The House bill has the same short title and purpose: to keep professional sports franchises in their home communities.
Senators Murphy and Blumenthal said they joined Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar in introducing the Home Team Act, bicameral legislation requiring professional sports team owners to give local communities the chance to buy teams before relocation. The release says the bill gives communities the chance to purchase the team at a fair price during the notice year.
Assessments
Sanders fulfilled the promise because the promised action was to introduce and support legislation, not necessarily enact it. Official bill records and Senate releases show Sanders sponsored and introduced S. 4272, the Home Team Act of 2026, during his current Senate term. The bill's substance matches the promise by requiring professional sports team owners to give local communities a fair opportunity to buy teams before relocation.
Sanders, while serving in the Senate, introduced the Home Team Act with Rep. Greg Casar in March 2026 and continued to support the bicameral push in April 2026. The bill text and official congressional records match the promise to require team owners to give local communities a chance to buy before relocation, so the commitment to introduce and support that legislation was fulfilled in the current term.
Multiple independent sources confirm that Senator Bernie Sanders introduced legislation—the Home Team Act—explicitly requiring owners of professional sports teams to give local communities the chance to purchase teams at a fair price before relocating them. This aligns directly with the campaign promise to introduce and support such legislation. All reported actions took place during the current term, and Sanders is named as a primary sponsor or co-sponsor, showing clear effort and fulfillment.
Multiple credible sources confirm that Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the Home Team Act during the relevant term, fulfilling his promise to introduce and support legislation requiring professional sports team owners to give local communities a chance to buy teams at a fair price before relocation. All evidence converges on clear legislative introduction and advocacy within the same term.