Shortly before winning the Super Bowl, the ownership of the Seattle Seahawks was called into question. Jody Allen had been running the team since her brother, Paul Allen, passed away, but the ownership was in a trust. Long-term trust ownership violates league rules, which reportedly led to a $5 million fine, although the NFL denied that the fine occurred.
With the Super Bowl behind them, the Seahawks are now officially up for sale and speculation about a potential new buyer has begun. One name that popped up quickly was Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who has shown an interest in owning an NFL team in the past.
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Bezos, who lived in Seattle for nearly 30 years, was interested in purchasing the Washington Commanders when they were up for sale in 2023. He hired a firm to help with the bidding, but eventually decided against pursuing the team.
Now that the Seattle franchise is available, the dots were connected back to Bezos. However, Dylan Byers is reporting that Bezos is not pursuing a bid for the Seahawks.
“Greetings from Los Angeles, and welcome back to In the Room. The Paul Allen estate has officially put my Seattle Seahawks on the market and enlisted Allen & Co. (no relation) and Latham & Watkins to assist with the sale. I’m reliably told that Jeff Bezos, who had been interested in acquiring the Washington Commanders, is not pursuing the Seahawks,” Byers wrote.
Bezos not pursuing Seahawks… https://t.co/Ckmk8cnrqY
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) February 19, 2026
How long did the Allen family own the Seahawks?
The city of Seattle will always be thankful for Paul Allen, who purchased the Seahawks in 1997. Allen paid $194 million, acquiring the team from Ken Behring. Allen’s purchase kept the Seahawks from relocating to Anaheim, CA.
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Behring was frustrated with the conditions of the Kingdome and wasn’t getting funding from the city. He began to move equipment and held trainings in Anaheim. Allen eventually stepped in and the Microsoft Co-Founder funded the new home, which was originally called Seahawks Stadium. Of course, today, we know it as Lumen Field.
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