For sale: Seahawks are on the market

SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks are officially on the market. Paul Allen’s estate announced Wednesday that it has begun the process of selling the franchise, honoring the late owner’s directive that his sports holdings eventually be liquidated and the proceeds directed to philanthropy. The news comes less than a month after the Seahawks captured their second Lombardi Trophy, a championship that punctuated nearly three decades of stability under Allen’s stewardship.

Allen, who purchased the team in 1997 for $194 million from Ken Behring, was widely credited with keeping the Seahawks in the Pacific Northwest. His sister, Jody, has overseen day-to-day operations since Allen’s death in 2018 from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma at age 65. Wednesday’s brief statement from the estate offered no timeline beyond indicating the sale will “continue through the offseason,” but it reiterated that the franchise is expected to remain in Seattle, where its lease at Lumen Field runs through 2032 and includes three additional 10-year options.

Investment bank Allen & Company and law firm Latham & Watkins have been retained to manage the process. Any final agreement must be ratified by NFL owners, who last approved a franchise transaction in 2023 when a Josh Harris-led group bought the Washington Commanders for a record $6.05 billion.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, speaking ahead of the Super Bowl, praised the Allen estate’s management of the team and signaled the league’s readiness to assist in the transition. “They’re in the Super Bowl, and I think from that standpoint they’ve done a really important job in the context of the trust and the execution of that,” Goodell said. “But eventually the team will need to be sold in accordance with that. That will be Jody’s decision for when she does that, and we will be supportive of that.”

The Seahawks’ sale marks the second major move for the Allen estate in less than a year. In September, Jody Allen agreed to sell the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers to an investment group fronted by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon, a deal expected to close this spring with the stipulation that the franchise stays in Portland.

Neither the NFL nor the Allen estate provided additional comment Wednesday, leaving the identity of prospective buyers—and the ultimate price for one of the league’s most stable franchises—to speculation as the offseason unfolds.