ALLEN: SEAHAWKS AND BLAZERS NOT YET UP FOR SALE
Seattle Seahawks de facto owner, Jody Allen, has shut down rumors that the team is up for sale. Allen is the chair of both the Seahawks and NBA franchise team Portland Trail Blazers and confirmed via a statement on Tuesday that there is currently no interest in selling either team.
“As chair of both the Portland Trail Blazers and the Seattle Seahawks, my long-term focus is building championship teams that our communities are proud of,” said Allen. “Like my brother Paul, I trust and expect our leaders and coaches to build winning teams that deliver results on and off the court and field.”
“As we’ve stated before, neither of the teams is for sale and there are no sales discussions happening. A time will come when that changes given Paul’s plans to dedicate the vast majority of his wealth to philanthropy, but estates of this size and complexity can take 10 to 20 years to wind down. There is no pre-ordained timeline by which the teams must be sold. Until then, my focus – and that of our teams – is on winning.”
Allen is the trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust and has served as Seahawks chair and de facto owner since her brother and former team owner, Paul Allen, died in October 2018 of septic shock related to non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft with childhood friend Bill Gates, and bought the Trail Blazers in 1988 and the Seahawks in 1997. He was also a part owner of the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer.
Rumors surrounding the future of the Seahawks ownership had been circulating around the NFL this offseason after the Walton-Penner family entered into a purchase agreement to buy the Denver Broncos for a North American record $4.65billion; subject to the NFL’s finance committee and three-fourths of the owners’ approval.
It had also been reported that Nike founder and chairman, Phil Knight, alongside Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Alan Smolinisky made an unsolicited offer last month of more than $2billion to purchase the Portland Trail Blazers. A Trail Blazers spokesperson confirmed the offer last month via a brief statement simply saying: “An offer was made by Phil Knight. The team remains not for sale.”
Speaking a month ago about the possibility of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers changing hands, NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, said: “I don’t know all the specifics of Paul Allen’s trust. What I understand is that Jody Allen, who is Paul Allen’s sister, is the trustee of the estate and that at some point, the team will be sold. I don’t have any sense of the precise timing… But at some point, it will be for sale.”
“This is a hugely complex estate, and although it’s been several years, these things take time. It will work its way out, but I know Jody and her advisers are very focused on it. As to the timing, that is something that her brother left in her hands.”
Seahawks longtime head coach Pete Carroll also confirmed Allen’s stance on selling the Pacific Northwest football team last month, saying: “She’s never entertained that thought at all. I haven’t heard her say that at all.”
Allen’s statement marks the first official acknowledgment that the Seahawks are not currently for sale while making it clear that the Paul G. Allen trust plans to eventually sell both teams in accordance with Paul Allen’s wishes. According to the Sports Business Journal, a clause in Paul Allen’s agreement to purchase the Seahawks in 1997 also acts as a disincentive and provides some insight into the likelihood of the team being sold in the next 22 months. According to the clause, a sale before May 2024 would entitle the state of Washington to 10% of the gross proceeds; meaning that if the Seahawks sold for an estimated $4billion, the state would get $400million.
The Seahawks were ranked as the NFL’s 12th-most valuable franchise last year according to Forbes, and with the Denver Broncos selling for a staggering $4.65billion after being bought for just $70million by Pat Bowlen in 1984, the asking number for the Seahawks is sure to continue to climb. The Broncos were ranked 10th on Forbes’ 2021 list and had a $3.75billion valuation.
The Seattle Seahawks traded Russell Wilson in a blockbuster deal to Denver this offseason and are about to enter a rebuilding phase. While it is expected that both the Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers will see an eventual ownership change with Jody Allen finding suitable buyers, it is clear as per her reiteration on Tuesday that now is not the time.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero