One week remains until the deadline for the Cincinnati Bengals and Hamilton County to agree on an extension for the lease of Paycor Stadium.

Located in Downtown Cincinnati, Paycor Stadium (formerly known as Paul Brown Stadium) has been the home of the Bengals since 2000. The club used to share Riverfront Stadium with the Cincinnati Reds from 1970-1999, just a few hundred feet away from where Paycor Stadium is now.

The Bengals have played in Hamilton County for their entire existence, even during their first two years when they played games at the University of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium. The next week will determine whether or not the franchise looks for different options outside of the county.

Deadline to extend Paycor Stadium's lease is June 30

This deadline has been decades in the making. Cincinnati negotiated what became a notorious agreement in 1996 that included over $500 million in public funding from taxpayers, which was the largest public subsidy at the time.

The lease itself will expire in 2026, 30 years after the county passed a one-half percent sales tax increase to help fund the stadium. 

By June 30, the Bengals will have to send a letter to the county expressing their intentions. If no extension is exercised, they'll have a year to figure out their next move. 

In all likelihood, the team will stay right where they are.

Latest developments between Bengals, Hamilton County

It's been a contentious few months between the club and the county it resides in. A "memorandum of understanding" was reached in April regarding the total cost of stadium renovations and how much each side would pay. 

Weeks later, a key lawyer for the county whom the Bengals have worked with since the 90s was dismissed during the middle of negotiations. Despite this setback, the Bengals released a statement claiming a deal was in progress without funds coming from the state.

A report from Cincinnati.com states offers from both sides made in April differ in every fashion from length and contributions. The county wants a new lease agreement that would span 15 years, and the Bengals want a five-year extension of the current lease.

What is likely to happen?

All this negotiating has been for the sake of nailing something down for the long-term, but the club has the option to exercise a two-year rolling extension as a last resort. If no grandiose agreement is reached between the club and county, this will be the path taken. 

The Bengals don't want to leave their venue, and the county doesn't want to be the losers of another lopsided agreement. They have a week to iron out the kinks, but Cincinnati's NFL team leaving Cincinnati itself is still an unlikely scenario at this time.