PRIA Logo™
119-s-4272119th CongressWALLET

Home Team Act of 2026

Sponsored By: Senator Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]

Introduced

Summary

This bill would protect local teams by giving communities a clear right to buy a franchise before it is moved or eliminated and by banning league rules that bar government or public ownership. It focuses on market-based sales, a Treasury-led appraisal process, and penalties to enforce those community purchase rights.

Show full summary
  • Communities and local governments: Owners who plan to move, cross state lines, or eliminate a franchise would have to give proper notice at least one year before the season and offer the team for sale first to a local government or a home community cooperative.
  • Potential buyers and price rules: The bill would set a priority order for buyers that later includes local nonprofits and local private groups. The Secretary of the Treasury would assemble trained appraisers to set a fair market price and subtract any government payments or subsidies for stadium construction from that appraisal.
  • Owners, leagues, and enforcement: Leagues affecting interstate commerce would be barred from forbidding government or public ownership or transfers to them. Violations could trigger a civil penalty of $30,000 per day and allow a State or local government to sue for injunctions and money. The bill would protect employee collective bargaining rights and preserve existing agreements then in effect.

*No specific federal cost estimate is provided in the sources.*

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

4 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.

Community first right to buy teams

If enacted, the bill would require a team owner to offer a fair opportunity to buy the franchise before moving it, moving it across State lines, or eliminating it. The offer must go in priority order: (A) a local government or a home community cooperative; (B) a local nonprofit or specified public-private partnership; (C) a private person, consortium, or local company. The owner would have to give proper notice, offer the team at the fair market value set by a Treasury appraisal team, and accept any eligible offer that meets that appraised price. The Treasury appraisal would have to subtract any government payment, tax credit, or subsidy used to build the stadium the team mainly used. The bill would also bar leagues from forbidding government or public ownership or transfers.

Daily fines and state lawsuits

If enacted, the Attorney General could fine a franchise owner $30,000 for each day the owner violates the sale or relocation rules. A State or unit of local government could also sue in federal court to seek money or an injunction to stop the move or elimination.

Protect collective bargaining rights

If enacted, the bill would not change employees' rights to collectively bargain over terms and conditions of employment. It would also make clear that any collective bargaining agreement in place on the enactment date stays in force.

New notice and community definitions

If enacted, the bill would define key terms for the purchase and relocation rules. It would define 'community' as the metropolitan area where the franchise plays the most home games. It would require 'proper notice' at least one year before the season in which the team would play at a new location or before franchise elimination and specify who and what must be notified.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]

VT • I

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]

    CT • D

    Sponsored 3/26/2026

  • Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]

    CT • D

    Sponsored 3/26/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
Back to Legislation