Maybe they’re negotiating. But in any negotiation, the negotiators need to be willing to act in order to have any credibility.
As to the negotiation between the Bills and Buffalo that has begun with the Bills wanting taxpayer funding to pay the full price of a new stadium, an impasse could lead the Bills threatening to move -- and potentially moving -- elsewhere.
Citing an unnamed ownership source, Seth Wickersham of ESPN.com reports that Austin is a possible destination -- or threat -- as one of the cities to which Bills ownership was referring when telling government negotiators that “there are other cities elsewhere that desire an NFL franchise and would pay handsomely for it.”
San Antonio was one of the leverage destinations for the Raiders before they moved to Las Vegas, and the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans weren’t believed to be thrilled about the possibility of a third team coming to Texas. Presumably, they wouldn’t want a team in Austin, either.
Regardless, it’s not about moving at this point. It’s about making the politicians in New York think a move could happen. Until they do, they won’t open up the public coffers.