As the Seahawks prepare for another shot at the Lombardi Trophy-this time against the New England Patriots-there’s more than just football making headlines in Seattle. On the 12th anniversary of their 43-8 Super Bowl rout of the Denver Broncos, the franchise finds itself at a major crossroads off the field, with reports indicating a potential sale of the team is on the horizon.
According to ESPN, the Seahawks are expected to be sold this offseason, more than seven years after the passing of longtime owner Paul Allen. Since his death, the team has been under the stewardship of the Paul G. Allen Living Trust, with Allen’s sister, Jody Allen, overseeing operations in accordance with his will.
Now, it’s not unusual for NFL teams to be held in trusts-plenty of owners have used them to transition ownership across generations. Tom Benson did it with the Saints, passing the team to his wife Gayle.
Pat Bowlen’s trust oversaw the Broncos before their eventual sale. Lamar Hunt used a trust structure to hand the Chiefs down to his children.
So the trust itself isn’t the issue.
What is raising eyebrows, though, is the lack of a single, designated “controlling owner” for the Seahawks-something the NFL requires for every franchise. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, this absence may have contributed to the league slapping the organization with a $5 million fine. That’s not pocket change, even for NFL owners.
Whether the league is actively pushing for a sale or simply nudging things along behind the scenes, the timing makes a lot of sense from a financial standpoint. NFL franchise valuations are at an all-time high, and the Seahawks are no exception. Forbes estimates the team’s value has skyrocketed more than 150% since Paul Allen’s death-a staggering return in just a few years.
A big part of that surge traces back to the 2020 collective bargaining agreement and a fresh round of broadcast deals that followed shortly after. The CBA gave the owners a favorable setup for the second straight negotiation cycle, and the new TV contracts brought in a flood of fresh revenue.
While the players’ share of the pie is split among thousands of current and former athletes-covering everything from salaries to pensions and post-career health benefits-the owners divide their slice among a much smaller group. Less division means more profit, and that’s helped accelerate team valuations across the league.
To put it into perspective: Since the 2011 CBA was implemented, NFL team values have grown at an average of 13.7% per year. From 2011 to 2021, that number sat at 12.8%.
But since 2021? That annual growth rate has jumped to a jaw-dropping 19.6%.
That’s not just strong-it’s elite-level investment territory.
Of course, nothing lasts forever. The current CBA is already halfway through its life, and there’s no guarantee owners will walk away with another win when the next round of negotiations rolls around. Labor unrest is always a possibility, and the broadcast landscape-while currently dominated by the NFL-could shift by the time the next media deals are up for grabs.
So yes, valuations might keep climbing, and holding onto the team could mean even bigger returns down the road. But with the CBA clock ticking, potential pressure from the league, and an already massive increase in the team’s value, selling now isn’t just understandable-it might be the smart play.
For Seahawks fans, it’s a moment of mixed emotions. The team’s back in the Super Bowl hunt, but the future of the franchise’s ownership is anything but certain. What is clear: whether on the field or in the boardroom, big changes are coming to Seattle.