Sportsnaut
The Seattle Seahawks were put up for sale at the perfect time, with the franchise coming off a Super Bowl title and poised to compete for the Lombardi Trophy again next season. It might not be long before a record-breaking deal is made.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that there are signs Seattle’s NFL franchise will be sold in the coming months, with a source “with knowledge of the situation” sharing a new Seahawks owner should be in place by September.
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Following the death of Paul Allen in 2018, ownership of the Seahawks was taken over by the Paul G. Allen Estate with his sister, Jody Allen, overseeing everything. However, his will called for the franchise along with the Portland Trail Blazers to be sold with the money from the sale then spread across various charities as donations.
In March, the NBA approved the sale of Portland’s NBA franchise with the deal estimated at $4.25 billion. It is the third-largest franchise sale in NBA history, only behind the Boston Celtics ($6.1 billion) and the Los Angeles Lakers ($10 billion).
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Originally, the NFL seemed hopeful that the Seahawks would sell for $10-plus billion. It would shatter the record for the highest purchase price ever for an NFL team, blowing past the mark set by Washington Commanders ($6.05 billion) in 2023.
However, ESPN‘s Seth Wickersham reported in May that the pending Seahawks’ sale was generating “softer-than-expected interest” from potential buyers. Instead of eclipsing $10 billion, those with knowledge of negotiations said Seattle’s NFL franchise would likely sell for “slightly above” $9 billion.
The Paul G. Allen Trust will receive the entirety of the Seahawks’ sale price, estimated to be around $9 to $10 billion, once it is approved by the National Football League.
Combined with the sale of the Trail Blazers, the Paul G. Allen estate will have netted more than $12 billion by selling its NFL and NBA franchises. All of the money will be distributed to various foundations and causes that the late Allen supported, largely dispersed through the Allen Family Philanthropies.
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