Seattle Seahawks to reportedly go up for sale after Super Bowl 60; Paul Allen estate disputes story
- - Seattle Seahawks to reportedly go up for sale after Super Bowl 60; Paul Allen estate disputes story
Ian Casselberry January 31, 2026 at 12:33 AM
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Seahawks owner Jody Allen (center, sister of Paul Allen) stands on stage as the team celebrates its NFC Championship. (AP Photo/Ben VanHouten) ()
The Super Bowl LX-bound Seattle Seahawks will go up for sale after their Feb. 8 matchup with the New England Patriots, according to ESPN's Seth Wickersham and Brady Henderson.
However, the Paul G. Allen estate disputed the ESPN report, stating the team is not for sale.
"We don't comment on rumors or speculation, and the team is not for sale," said a spokesperson for the estate in a statement (via NFL Network's Ian Rapoport).
"We've already said that will change at some point per Paul's wishes, but I have no news to share," the statement continued. "Our focus right now is winning the Super Bowl and completing the sale of the Portland Trail Blazers in the coming months."
A statement from the Paul G Allen Estate spokesman: “We don’t comment on rumors or speculation, and the team is not for sale. We’ve already said that will change at some point per Paul’s wishes, but I have no news to share. Our focus right now is winning the Super Bowl and… https://t.co/3Y8hp81u8N
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 30, 2026
After former owner Paul Allen passed away in 2018, the Seahawks and the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers have been owned by Allen's estate. The Blazers are being sold to a group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon for more than $4 billion.
[Get more Seahawks news: Seattle team feed]
ESPN's report cited an anonymous team executive who speculated the team could be sold for $7 billion or more; Sportico valued the Seahawks at $6.59 billion last fall, which ranked 14th in the league. The Washington Commanders were the most recent NFL team to be sold, purchased for a then-record $6.05 billion in 2023.
Since Allen's death in 2018, the Seahawks (and Trail Blazers) have been controlled by his sister, Jody Allen, as the executor of the trust. She has been a public presence with the team, raising the 12 flag before last Sunday's NFC championship game and accepting the George S. Halas Trophy after Seattle defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 31-27, to advance to the Super Bowl.
On Friday, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald told reporters he and Allen speak every week after each game and she often asks "piercing questions."
The Tradition Lives On. Jody Allen raises the 12 Flag ahead of the NFC Championship.#Seahawks x #GoHawks pic.twitter.com/examVY4UVS
— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) January 26, 2026
Jody Allen has asserted several times the franchise is not for sale. However, Paul Allen's intention was for the teams to eventually be sold and for the resulting revenue to be donated to charity.
“The time will come when that changes given Paul’s plans to dedicate the vast majority of his wealth to philanthropy,” Jody Allen said in a 2022 statement (via the Seattle Times). “But estates of this size and complexity can take 10 to 20 years to wind down. There is no preordained timeline by which the teams must be sold.”
Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft, purchased the Seahawks in 1997 for $200 million. He kept the team in Seattle after previous owner Ken Behring attempted to move it to Los Angeles. Behring was unhappy with the Seahawks' then-home stadium at the Kingdome. A condition of Allen buying the team was getting a new stadium. What is now Lumen Field opened in 2002.
The Seahawks going up for sale would mark the first time in the NFL's Super Bowl era that an entire franchise would be available following the game. In 1991, 50% of the New York Giants were purchased by Preston Robert Tisch, according to ESPN.
If and when the Seahawks are sold, the next owner will be the fourth for the franchise. The Nordstrom family originally owned the team before Behring.
Source: “AOL Sports”
