There will be no change in ownership for the Seattle Seahawks anytime soon.
That’s what the team’s chair, Jody Allen, revealed in her statement regarding the potential sale of the Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Her brother, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, purchased the Trail Blazers in 1988.
Nine years later, they acquired the Seahawks for $194 million.
But after Allen’s passing in 2018, there have been rumors that the Seahawks will have a change in ownership.
Still, those speculations haven’t materialized and Allen clarified that a transition won’t happen anytime soon.
In her statement, the Seahawks chairperson and trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust said, “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.”
That said, Tacoma News Tribune insider for the Seahawks Gregg Bell simplified Allen’s words.
Yes. The issue is timeliness of clearing each asset in the estate. Her statement is that timing for the Seahawks and Blazers is later rather than sooner. https://t.co/JS3n2ynpUG
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) July 5, 2022
He responded to a Twitter user who said, “I am having a hard time that Paul’s trust is that vague. She is a trustee, not an owner. She has to follow the orders of the trust.”
To which Bell replied, “Yes. The issue is timeliness of clearing each asset in the estate. Her statement is that timing for the Seahawks and Blazers is later rather than sooner.”
The Seahawks’ Timeline Might Look Like That Of The Denver Broncos
While trusts have specific instructions that must be executed, it is still subject to litigation if another group or person believes that their claim is valid.
That’s why it took time before the Denver Broncos were transferred from the Pat Bowlen Trust to the Walton-Penner family for $4.5 billion.
The camp of the previous owner Edgar Kaiser Jr. argued that they had the right of first refusal before the team went for sale.
After a lengthy legal process, Denver district judge Shelley I. Gilman ruled that Kaiser’s heirs cannot re-purchase the franchise.
Delays like those could also happen while the Paul G. Allen Trust is being fulfilled.
No wonder his sister Jody gave such an estimate before considering the sale.
NEXT: Seahawks Ownership May Have Revealed A Timeline For A Sale