Brock and SALK
Updated: April 17, 2023 at 9:11 am
A view of the line of scrimmage during the Seahawks-49ers game on December 15, 2022. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
When it was announced last week that longtime Washington Chiefs owners Dan and Tanya Snyder had a non-exclusive agreement to sell the team, the biggest news may have been that Jeff Bezos didn’t make a bid — in part because Bezos has. His eyes on a different NFL team: the Seattle Seahawks.
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Both the Washington Post’s Mark Muske and Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said Bezos could be Amazon’s richest founder, with the Paul G. Allen Trust buying the Seahawks under his owner Paul. Allen died in 2018, and finally sold.
According to Musk’s report, “‘Bezos knows Seattle is sitting there,'” said a person with knowledge of the inner workings of the NFL.
The idea makes sense on paper. Bezos founded Amazon in Bellevue, and the company still has a large footprint in Seattle. But Mike Salk of Seattle Sports wasn’t sure Bezos would follow Jody Allen as the next Seahawks chairman when he heard the news. Much to do with it, Bezos has focused his interests in Washington, D.C., and not in recent years.
(Commanders sale report) The reason Bezos came out on the Chiefs has sparked some rumors — because Jeff Bezos obviously has enough money to replace anyone who wants to buy anything — that he wants in. The Seahawks are ready to trust Jody in another couple of years. And all the details went around her to sell the team,” Salk said.
Salk explained why those rumors felt “a little weird” to him.
“By all accounts, (Bezos) was trying to add more and more juice to Washington, D.C., with Amazon (HQ2 in Arlington, Va.), etc., he was interested in the (DC) scene. And if you’re interested in power, you’re interested in making a difference in (DC).” , owning the Seahawks doesn’t have the same level of influence as the Washington Chiefs,” Salk said.
Salk doesn’t think the Seahawks, who have a stronger reputation around the NFL than Snyder-owned commanders, will be a reason for Bezos.
“Just because Daniel Snyder has been missing (name of commanders) over the last decade doesn’t mean he’s not one of the most powerful things in the sports world,” Salk said. Where it is, the history of the team, the fanbase that’s still there, and the amount of energy around that city — it’s definitely more significant than this city.
“So yes, there’s obviously a Seattle element to Amazon, but Bezos never struck me as a big Seattle guy. He didn’t invest in other team ownership opportunities or anything else in Seattle. I don’t think of him that way. Not like Paul Allen, who is ‘Mr. Seattle’ is not him. He’s built a lot here, and obviously Seattle is important to him and his success and his story, but it doesn’t strike me as a person saying, “No, no, no, I want the Seahawks, not the team that’s doing it.” I’m very smart about my energy and my business and everything else.’
Listen to the full conversation from Friday’s edition of Brook & Salk in the podcast below.
When can the Seattle Seahawks be sold?
The Seahawks are not currently up for sale and likely won’t be until at least next year – according to Florio, “If they’re sold before May 2024, 10 percent of the proceeds will go to the state of Washington.” Build the team’s existing stadium. And even 2024 may be too early for the team to actually sit on the ban.
Both the Seahawks and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers will eventually be sold by the Paul G. Allen Trust, which will use profits exclusively for charitable purposes. This was confirmed by Allen’s sister, Jody Allen, the current chairman of the Seahawks and Blazers, in a statement last year. But the timeline is far from urgent, she said.
“As we’ve said before, neither team is for sale and there are no sales discussions,” wrote Jody Allen. “Given Paul’s plans to give most of his fortune to charity, there will come a time when those changes will be made, but an estate of this size and complexity could take 10 to 20 years to wind down.” There is no pre-determined time frame in which the teams must be sold.
For more information, read former NFL player and current Fox football analyst Brook Hurd’s take on the situation from last July at this link.
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