Seattle Seahawks Put Up For Sale After Super Bowl 60 Triumph

Seattle Seahawks player with the NFL trophy

 

The Seattle Seahawks have officially been put up for sale just 10 days after capturing American football’s biggest prize at Super Bowl 60.

Reports had emerged prior to the championship game that discussions were underway regarding a potential sale of the franchise.

The Seahawks went on to defeat the New England Patriots to secure their second Super Bowl title, adding fresh intrigue to the timing of the announcement.

The team was purchased in 1997 by Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft alongside Bill Gates. Allen’s acquisition is widely credited with preventing the franchise from relocating to Southern California. Under his stewardship, Seattle claimed their first Super Bowl crown in 2014.

Allen died in 2018 at the age of 65 due to complications from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Since then, his sister, Jody Allen, has served as executor of his estate and chair of both the Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers.

In a statement released Wednesday, the Allen estate confirmed it has “commenced a formal sale process” for the Seahawks, in line with Allen’s directive that his sports holdings eventually be sold and the proceeds directed toward philanthropic causes.

According to Forbes, Allen originally purchased the franchise for $194 million (£143.6m). The publication’s latest valuation places the Seahawks at $6.7 billion (£5bn), ranking them the 14th most valuable team in the NFL.

The most recent NFL franchise sale saw the Washington Commanders sold in 2023 to a group led by Josh Harris for a then-record $6.05 billion (£4.5bn). That figure was eclipsed last year when the Los Angeles Lakers were purchased for $10 billion (£7.5bn), marking the most expensive sports team transaction globally.

Meanwhile, a sale of the Trail Blazers is already progressing, with Tom Dundon, owner of the Carolina Hurricanes, having agreed to buy the NBA franchise in a deal valued at $4.25 billion (£3.3bn).

The Allen estate has appointed investment bank Allen & Company and law firm Latham & Watkins to oversee the Seahawks’ sale process, ushering in what could be one of the most significant transactions in NFL history.

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