The Seattle Seahawks might be coming off a Super Bowl victory, but that hasn’t led to extreme interest from buyers looking to purchase the franchise. With the franchise officially up for sale, the Seahawks reportedly haven’t drawn as much attention as the NFL had hoped now that the team is on the market, according to ESPN.
Multiple sources, including an anonymous owner and various other football executives, told ESPN that interest in the team was “soft.”
“It’s soft,” a team owner said of the market for the Seahawks.
“There isn’t as much action as there was with Denver and Washington,” another executive said, referring to the most recent past two franchise sales.
That doesn’t mean the franchise has no buyers, however. Canadian Steve Apostolopoulos — who made his money in real estate — is reportedly among the potential buyers, per ESPN. Apostolopoulos was also mentioned as a potential buyer when the Washington Commanders went up for sale in 2023. In addition to Apostolopoulos, Aditya Mittal and Wyc Grousbeck are reportedly preparing a bid, as is Vinod Khosla. Mittal is the CEO of a steel manufacturing company and has ownership shares in the Boston Celtics with Grousbeck, the team’s co-lead owner. Khosla is a limited partner of the San Francisco 49ers, per ESPN.
Despite the perceived lack of buyers, however, those who spoke with ESPN said they still expect the Seahawks to sell for around $9 billion, which would be an NFL record. Those executives originally thought a bidding war would the Seahawks’ cost into the $10-$11 billion range, which is why an anonymous owner called interest in the team “soft” despite the potential for a record-breaking sale.
The Seahawks opted to put the team up for sale due to a directive in late-owner Paul Allen’s will. When Allen died in 2018, he specified that he wanted his sports holdings sold, with the proceeds going toward philanthropic efforts.
The Portland Trail Blazers, which Allen also owned, followed that directive in 2025, going up for sale that May. The team sold for $4 billion a few months later.
Allen’s estate seemed far less willing to part with the Seahawks. Under NFL rules, an estate is not allowed to own an NFL team. The league gave the Seahawks some leeway in the years following Allen’s death, but wound up fining the team $5 million this year after it denied reports suggesting it would go up for sale following the Super Bowl.
Shortly after the reported fine, the Seahawks won the Super Bowl and went up for sale. While there’s some concern over the ultimate price at which the team will sell, the Seahawks are expected to set a record once they are bought.