Seahawks, Blazers to be Sold by Allen Trust Within ‘10 to 20’ Years

Any rumors about an imminent sale of the Seattle Seahawks or Portland Trail Blazers were shut down on Tuesday. That’s after Jody Allen, sister of the late Seahawks owner Paul Allen, released a statement saying neither franchise is on the market and that “sale discussions” are not happening. For now.

The statement comes one month after Nike Inc. founder Phil Knight and Los Angeles Dodgers part owner Alan Smolinsky reportedly offered more than $2 billion for the Blazers.

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Jody Allen is the executor of the Microsoft co-founder’s will as trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust, which was started in 1993. As an executor, Allen is legally obligated to fulfill her brother’s wishes, which include selling the two most popular assets of his estate, with proceeds going to philanthropic efforts. Paul Allen died in 2018.

Any hopes for a quick sale have been cooled by the statement.

“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,” Allen wrote. “There is no pre-ordained timeline by which the teams must be sold.”

“Until then, my focus—and that our teams—is on winning.”

Allen, who is the chairwoman of the Seahawks and Blazers, without going into detail briefly expressed the complexities of liquidating the estate, which includes assets worth billions of dollars. The businesswoman and Vulcan co-founder reaffirmed that the teams will eventually be sold but not now.

The Denver Broncos last month became the first NFL team out west to be sold since the Seahawks were sold to Paul Allen in 1997 for $197 million. The Broncos sold for a record $4.65 billion last month to an ownership group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton.

It was assumed by many that the Seahawks would be the next NFL team to be on the market but the Tuesday statement brings some pause. While franchise valuations continue to rise, fueled by lucrative media deals and new revenue streams like sports betting, the Seahawks could top the Broncos’ sale price when the day finally arrives.

Sportico previously valued the Seahawks at $3.6 billion (12^th most valuable in the NFL) while the Blazers were valued at $2 billion (14^th most valuable in NBA), respectively.

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