Less than two weeks after winning Super Bowl 60, the Seattle Seahawks are up for sale. The estate of Paul G. Allen — the former owner — unveiled Wednesday that the process to find a new owner is underway.
“The Estate of Paul G. Allen today unveiled it has commenced a formal sale process for the Seattle Seahawks NFL franchise, consistent with Allen’s directive to eventually sell his sports holdings and direct all Estate proceeds to philanthropy,” the statement reads. “The Estate has selected investment bank Allen & Company and law firm Latham & Watkins to lead the sale process, which is estimated to continue through the 2026 off-season. NFL owners must then ratify a final purchase agreement.”
The sale is expected to fetch a record-breaking price for an NFL franchise, topping the $6.05 billion the Washington Commanders sold for in 2023, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. ESPN has stated the team could sell for between $7 billion and $8 billion.
The news of the sale comes just weeks after a spokesman for the ownership group disputed reports the team was for sale.
“We don’t comment on rumors or speculation, and the team is not for sale,” the spokesman reported before the Super Bowl. “We’ve already reported 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 completing the sale of the Portland Trail Blazers in the coming months.”
The Seahawks did indeed win the Super Bowl, defeating the New England Patriots 29-13 for their second title. This marks the first time an NFL team has gone up for sale in the wake of participating in a Super Bowl, much less winning it.
The Seahawks and the Trail Blazers have been owned by the estate of Paul G. Allen since the former owner of both franchises died of cancer in 2018. His sister, Jody, has controlled the teams in the years since his death. The Allen estate reached an agreement to sell the Trail Blazers to Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon in August 2025.
Allen, who co-founded Microsoft along with Bill Gates, officially bought the Seahawks from Ken Behring in 1997 for $200 million, a move that saved the franchise from a potential move to Southern California.
The Commanders’ bidding process featured several prominent names, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, before Josh Harris ultimately won out. Bezos could be a factor in the Seahawks’ sale as well, per Jones.
