SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks are going up for sale in accordance with the wishes of late team owner Paul Allen.
Allen’s estate announced Wednesday that it has begun the process of selling the team, which is coming off its second Super Bowl victory in franchise history. The NFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press, nor did Allen’s estate have anything further to add beyond its brief statement, it said.
Ahead of the Super Bowl, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell commended Allen’s estate on its time owning the Seahawks.
“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.”
Investment bank Allen & Company and law firm Latham & Watkins will lead the sales process, which is estimated to continue through the offseason. NFL owners must then ratify a final purchase agreement.
The estate said the sale is consistent with Allen’s directive to eventually sell his sports holdings and direct all estate proceeds to philanthropy.
The Seahawks have been in the Allen family since 1997, when Paul Allen bought the team for $194 million from then-owner Ken Behring. Allen was critical in keeping the Seahawks in Seattle, which is where the team is expected to remain after the sale is finalized. The Seahawks have a lease at Lumen Field that runs through 2032 with three 10-year options.
Since Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, died in 2018 from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma at 6