NFL Pushing For Record-Breaking $10B Seattle Seahawks Sale

The NFL central headquarters was quick to strike back at the notion that the pending sale of the Seattle Seahawks wasn’t generating the immediately over-the-top bidding war the league was hopeful for.

Frankly, the ESPN reporting jibed with what SportsBoom were hearing early in the offseason, but of course, that doesn’t mean that the league and the bankers involved won’t do all they can to steward this process toward a desired goal. And, according to multiple high-ranking NFL team officials, including some who have worked closely with the Park Avenue league office on matters such as this in the past, the NFL is invested in the sale of this signature regional franchise, shattering all previous markers.

Timing Is Right?

Specifically, seeing this franchise sell for $10B, the league recently altered its regulations to allow private equity firms to amass up to 10 of its franchises; a seismic shift within football circles, is an overarching objective for the NFL, the sources said, the timing of which will have significant ramifications on other teams that are closer to hitting the market than not.

“I don’t think I’m telling any tales here,” said one high-ranking NFL team official. 

“In the league’s valuation, this is a $10B franchise. Maybe it’s more, maybe it’s a little less. But if Seattle is $10B, then Baltimore is that $8B? You see how that goes.”

The Seahawks are a high-water franchise on multiple levels, and thus the NFL wants to maximize this sale at a time when other owners are watching closely. 

The league hopes to add an 18th game; it is expanding into international markets at an unprecedented rate, and all of that growth inherently trickles down to the franchise level. 

The Seahawks draw fans from multiple states as well as Canada, with a world-class stadium and a proactive facility. They have a history of winning going back decades, by and large, and an esteemed front office across football operations, communications, marketing, and sales.

Oh, and I failed to mention they are coming off hoisting the Lombardi Trophy for the second time.

“It’s a model franchise anyway you appraise it,” the exec said.

Of course, the family of late owner Paul Allen will have ultimate sway over how this plays out, but it’s already obvious through the pushback in the media about a “soft market” that the league is being vigilant about anything connected to this pending sale.