WE DO NOT CARE SPORTS

by Mitchell Hammon

With the Super Bowl and NFL season now in the rear view mirror, Seattle fans focus now has shifted to the Kraken who are fighting to get into the playoffs and the Mariners who are currently in Spring Training, and have opening day in over a month. As dialed in as I am to the Kraken and Mariners, I can’t help but think about what this next year is going to entail with our Seattle Seahawks.

The elephant in the room is the team is up for sale and is up to Jody Allen to find a buyer. Jody Allen is the sister of the late great Paul Allen and the trustee of his estate which owns the Seattle Seahawks and NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers.

Paul Allen founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975, which kicked off the tech boom and changed the world. With his success from Microsoft, Allen ventured into team ownership with the purchase of the Portland Trail Blazers in 1988. In which the team saw success with two trips to the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992. The completion of the Moda center in 1995, which Allen and his company Vulcan fully funded. He also funded the construction of the Blazers practice facility in Tualitin, Oregon, which was completed in 1998. By the time Allen put in an offer, he had a good track record of owning a sports franchise. It also helped he had ties to the Pacific Northwest.

Paul Allen purchased the team in 1997 from real estate developer Ken Behring. The previous year, Behring threatened to relocate the franchise to Anaheim, California, as Behring grew dissatisfied with the Kingdome and the aging facilities. He went as far as moving the team’s operations into the former Rams facility in Anaheim despite still playing in Seattle. The move was met with massive backlash, while Behring did not properly apply for relocation and was not authorized by the NFL to make any of the decisions he made. The NFL stepped in with a $500,000 per day fine if he did not move operations back to Seattle. Also the city of Seattle had an agreement with the Seahawks that legally bound them to the Kingdome through 2005. Behring was then forced to sell the team.

The Paul Allen purchase would change the trajectory of this franchise. Allen purchased the Seattle Seahawks for only $200 million and was able to secure funding for a new stadium in his first year of ownership. In 1999, Allen would make his first big move by firing head coach Dennis Erickson. He managed to pull legendary head coach Mike Holmgren away from the Green Bay Packers to become the new head coach and GM of the Seahawks. The move paid dividends instantly with an AFC West title. The team would lose in their final game at the Kingdome in the wild card round to HOF QB Dan Marino and the Dolphins in his farewell season, but the future was bright in Seattle. The team would play at Husky Stadium the next two seasons while Lumen Field was under construction. Seahawks would trade star WR Joey Galloway to the Dallas Cowboys and with that pick, selected RB Shaun Alexander in the 2000 NFL Draft and then traded for Packers QB Matt Hasselbeck in 2001, reuniting him with Mike Holmgren.

The Seahawks would debut at the then Seahawks Stadium for the 2002 season. The stadium was not the only thing new to the Seahawks. The team switched from the AFC West to the NFC West, with the expansion Houston Texans forming into existence in the AFC. Along with a new logo and uniforms, with a modernized Hawks logo with navy blue, neon green and a special “Seahawks” blue. The new uniforms entailed blue helmets with the new logo, all Seahawks blue home kit and all white road kid with neon green stripes down the pants. A team with a brand new identity with the conference realignment.

The Seahawks would make their mark as a power in the NFC, making it to Super Bowl XL in 2005. In just their fourth season in the conference. Shaun Alexander would win NFL MVP and Seahawks finished with the best record in the league at 13-3. With a roster consisting of QB Matt Hasselbeck, RB Shaun Alexander, LT Walter Jones, C Robbie Tobeck, G Steve Hutchinson, LB Lofa Tatupu and CB Marcus Trufant. Seattle would go on beat the Redskins in the divisional round and the Panthers in the NFC Championship, marking the first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. Seahawks would go on to lose to the Steelers (and the refs) in Detroit 21-10. In spite of the loss and terrible calls, this is what finally put the Seahawks on the map as a real team.

Seahawks would enjoy a few more playoff seasons under Mike Holmgren until his retirement in 2009. After a one and done season under Jim Mora in 2009, Paul Allen would have big decision to make not only at Head Coach, but with who to bring in as the new General Manager. The Seahawks hired Green Bay Packers director of football operations John Schneider as GM and hired USC HC Pete Carroll as the 8th head coach in franchise history. Carroll would inherit an aging roster, but it was up to him and John Schneider to revamp the team. In their first draft in 2010, they would crush it. They would draft T Russell Okung, S Earl Thomas, WR Golden Tate, CB Walter Thurmond and S Kam Chancellor. They would all become key players on the 2013 championship team. During that season the Seahawks would acquire RB Marshawn Lynch from the Buffalo Bills. The Seahawks would win the NFC West at 7-9 in Schneider and Carroll’s first season, the Seahawks would beat the defending Super Bowl champions New Orleans Saints at home 41-36. This was also known as the “Beast Quake” game, where Lynch scored a 67 yard touch down with multiple broken tackles and an iconic stiff arm against Saints corner Tracy Porter before jumping into the endzone. The noise was so loud, the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network registered a small tremor at Qwest Field. And like that, Beast Mode was born.

In 2011, the Seahawks would draft LB KJ Wright, CB Richard Sherman, CB Byron Maxwell and LB Malcolm Smith. 2012 would be the best draft class in Seahawks history, they selected linebackers Bruce Irvin and Bobby Wagner, QB Russell Wilson, CB Jeremy Lane and G J.R. Sweezy. Undrafted free agent wide receivers Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse would also sign with the team.

The 2012 season would be the first of another new era. Nike would take over as the exclusive and official outfitter of the NFL with uniforms along with sideline and practice apparel. The Seahawks would be the first team with new uniforms in the deal. The Seahawks would update their logo slightly, replacing the exclusive “Seahawk blue” for a wolf grey. The new uniforms would have 12 “feather trims” along each pant leg and around the collar as a nod to the fans. A new number font with green outlines, with the feather trims inside the numbering along with a custom wing design on the shoulders/sleeves. This would introduce an all navy home kit, a white road jersey and introduced the wolf grey uniforms as an alternate. 2012 reigned in the Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson era with the formation of the Legion of Boom. A season that would change the franchise forever.

Russell Wilson would beat out recently signed QB Matt Flynn and 2011 starting QB Tarvaris Jackson for the starting job in preseason. The Seahawks would finish 11-5 and Wilson would get his first Pro Bowl nod as a rookie. Some of the big wins included an upset win over the Packers on MNF 14-12 on the “Fail Mary”, then a comeback win against the Patriots (the you mad bro? game) 24-23 and a blowout 42-13 win over division rival San Francisco 49ers at home. The Seahawks would go on beat the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field in the wild card round. They unfortunately fell short of a comeback win against the Atlanta Falcons in the divisional round, but the future was bright yet again in the Emerald City.

Expectations would be sky high for the Seahawks entering 2013. Them and the Denver Broncos had the highest odds to win Super Bowl XLVIII. The Seahawks would dominate the regular season with a 13-3 record and the number 1 ranked defense in the NFL. Would again defeat the New Orleans Saints at home in the playoffs. They would also beat the 49ers in the NFC Championship, also known as the tip game where Richard Sherman tipped the ball into the hands of Malcolm Smith securing the game sealing pick to win 27-13 to send the Seahawks back to the Super Bowl.

The Seahawks would shut down Peyton Manning and the number 1 offense in Super Bowl XLVIII. A game that began with a botched snap on the Broncos and a safety scored off of it by Seattle, set the tone on what this game was going to be. A pick 6 by LB Malcolm Smith toward the end of the first half and a Percy Harvin kickoff return to start the second half put a nail in the coffin for the Broncos. Kam Chancellor would also have a pick in this game, along with strong performances from both Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch. The Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos 43-8, the first Super Bowl championship in franchise history.

The Seahawks would return to the Super Bowl the following season and fall short of the New England Patriots 28-24 in Super Bowl XLIX. A game sealing interception by Patriots CB Malcolm Butler.

In 2018, Paul Allen was re-diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was previously diagnosed in 1982 and 2009 with successful treatments. This time he would unfortunately pass away from complications on October 18th, 2018, due to a septic shock. Paul Allen was 65 years old. Allen was never married nor had any children, so his sister Jody took over as executor of his estate in the middle of the 2018 season.

Paul Allen forever changed the trajectory Seattle Seahawks franchise. A team on the brink of relocation, to a team that brought Seattle its first championship since 1979 (Seattle SuperSonics). A team with one of the worst stadiums and facilities, to the best. A Nike uniform deal and campaign built around them. From a complicated culture to a winning one. He made the Seahawks one of the most respected franchises not only in the NFL, but in professional sports as a whole. It was now up to Jody Allen to carry on his legacy before she sold the team.

The team would find success in the seasons under Jody Allen’s ownership. Seahawks would go on to make the playoffs in 2018, then in 2019 and 2020. Put trust in John Schneider and the front office to make bold moves starting with the trade of Russell Wilson in 2022 and relieving long time head coach Pete Carroll of his duties in 2024 and the hire of Mike Macdonald. Which paid dividends with the team making the playoffs in 2022 and the team winning Super Bowl LX in 2025.

It was in Paul Allen’s will directive that the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks would be sold and proceeds would given to philanthropic efforts. Jody Allen in 2024 avoided a 10% tax from an expired lease agreement for Lumen Field signed in 1997 and would be on a new lease agreement through the 2032 season. After this, the NFL would force the sale of the team due to prohibiting trusts and estates owning teams indefinitely. The NFL requires an individual owner to be accountable for a team. The team would also avoid a $5 million dollar fine if sold by 2026. The franchise is expected to be sold for over $10 billion.

After the Seahawks won Super Bowl LX, Jody and the Estate of Paul G. Allen commenced the sale process for the team on February 18th, 2025. The Portland Trail Blazers are expected to be purchased by a group headed by Tom Dundon, the current owner of NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.

We will see what the future holds for the Seattle Seahawks and who the new owner is going to be. Jeff Bezos has been floated around to own multiple franchises at this point and this would be the most intriguing one yet due to his ties to the city and Steve Ballmer, another founding member of Microsoft who own’s the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers. These seem like the most likely options, but do not want the team to end up in the hands of someone like Clay Bennett who moved the Sonics to Oklahoma City or a Dan Snyder who made his once respected franchise a punch line.

Who ever takes on the mantle as the next owner, is inheriting one of the best situations a new owner can have. Hopefully they won’t screw that up.