Sources: Seahawks will go up for sale after Super Bowl LX

Seattle Seahawks It will go up for sale after Super Bowl LX, league and ownership sources familiar with the arrangement told ESPN, including former owner Paul G. Allen’s 2018 death ended years of questions about when the team would seek new ownership.

Sources said there have been discussions about a sale at the ownership and league level since at least last week.

Seahawks and the NBA portland trail blazers Allen has owned the estate since the former owner and Microsoft co-founder died in 2018. Complications of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. His sister, Jody Allen, controls the teams as executor of the trust, with her brother directing them to eventually sell both and donate the proceeds to charity.

An NFL spokesman declined to comment. In a statement, Paul G. A spokesperson for the Allen estate stated that the organization does not comment on rumors or speculation, and “the team is not for sale.”

“We have previously said that there will be a change at some point in accordance with Paul’s wishes, but I have no news to share,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Right now our focus is on winning the Super Bowl and completing the sale of the Portland Trail Blazers in the coming months.”

The Seahawks have now passed the date by which 10% of the proceeds from the sale would have been shared with the state of Washington.

If the Seahawks are put up for sale, it would be the first time in the Super Bowl era that an entire team that played in the championship game would be on the market shortly thereafter. In February 1991, Preston Robert Tisch purchased 50% of Champion. New York Giants.

Seahawks face off new England Patriots February 8 in Santa Clara, California.

Paul Allen agreed to purchase the Seahawks from Ken Behring in 1996, with the deal becoming official in 1997. The deal saved the team from possible relocation to Southern California. If sold again, the franchise could set a record for the sale price of an NFL team coming off a Super Bowl appearance and possibly a championship.

The Seahawks have made the playoffs in seven of the last 10 years. They are based on the famous Lumen Field, which is opposing players have said It is one of the most difficult stadiums to play in and is getting around $20 million to upgrade ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The franchise has one of the league’s most respected general manager-head coach combinations in John Schneider and Mike McDonald.

The valuation of sports teams has been increasing in recent years. Sportico values ​​the Seahawks at $6.59 billionAccording to its ranking, 14th highest in the league. The most recent NFL team to sell was Washington CommandersLed by a group led by Josh Harris Bought for a record $6.05 billion in 2023. of nba Los Angeles Lakers Sold majority stake in the team last June at a valuation of $10 billion.

A team executive told ESPN the Seahawks could get $7 billion to $8 billion.

The Blazers are in the process of being sold to a group of investors led by Tom Dundon, Who agreed to buy the team for more than $4 billion. dundon owns nhl carolina storm.

Jody Allen, who flew the 12 flags before the NFC Championship Game in his brother’s honor, had not typically accepted interview requests during his time running the team, and his first verbal comments came on stage at Lumen Field last Sunday when the Seahawks were receiving the NFC Championship trophy: “I’m incredibly proud to stand here today and accept it on behalf of all 12 people here, all 12 people around the country and all 12 people around the world.”

They released a statement on the ownership status in July 2022, Saying that although neither the Blazers nor the Seahawks were for sale at the time, they would eventually be for sale. He was after Nike founder Phil Knight and los angeles dodgers Minority owner Alan Smolinisky Made an unsolicited offer to buy the Blazers for more than $2 billion.

In his 2022 statement, Allen said the teams would eventually be sold “given Paul’s plans to dedicate the majority of his assets to philanthropy, but properties of this size and complexity may take 10 to 20 years to close. There is no pre-determined timeline by which the teams should be sold.

“Until then, I and our teams are focused on winning.”

The most important decision Allen took after taking control of the team was Move on from legendary coach Pete Carroll after 2023 seasonThat elevated Schneider to the role of the team’s top decision-maker. Schneider hired McDonald, who led the Seahawks to 10 and 14 regular season wins and now the fourth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

“The thing that impresses me about Jody is her enthusiasm for where she wants to put our team and the vision of our franchise as the Seattle Seahawks,” McDonald said during a team media availability on Friday. “That was during our interview process. To be honest, that’s really where I was like, ‘Okay, this is something I feel really strongly about and I think I can help make it.’ So everything, I think, has happened through that lens. It’s been very clear what type of team she wants and she has been incredibly supportive. …She’s been amazing.”