Future Ownership

[RiverDog]

There's been a lot of discussion surrounding the fate of the Seahawks following the tragic death of Paul Allen. Allen's younger sister, the executor of PA's estate, apparently has no interest in running either the Hawks or the Portland Trail Blazers, so we can expect it to be put up for sale sometime after the end of this season.

The NFL has a bylaw that mandates at least one person own a minimum 30% share (Green Bay was grandfathered in and is exempt from this clause), and being that the last sale of an NFL franchise was $2.3 billion for the Carolina Panthers this past summer, the field of potential buyers is very limited. 30% of $2.3B is no problem for one of the names being mentioned, Jeff Bezos of Seattle based Amazon and currently the richest man in the world and worth close to $150B. Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft executive with local ties and current owner of the LA Clippers has also been mentioned.

Thoughts?

[idhawkman]

My brother speaks highly of Steve Ballmer. He used to know him fairly well when he was at Microsoft.

So I guess, going off my brother's view of Ballmer, I would like to see him own the Hawks. Especially since he already owns a pro team and won't be a newbie at it.

[NorthHawk]

I've seen Ballmer a few times in interviews and he comes across as a high energy guy and could do well as an NFL owner. That group could use an injection of enthusiasm.
Bezos is another guy with money, and it would fit in a sense as he has branched out lately from just Amazon with the WP.
Maybe he thinks adding a revenue generator would fit his portfolio, too.

I don't know whether either guy is interested in Football, though.

[Rambo2014]

You are too late for LA. Only two teams can play in our new stadium. LOL maybe the old stadium in SD can house you or Tijuana

Good luck in the bye week as next week your balloon gets busted as Sea never beats teams run by Matts

Also to the guy puffed up last week about the Ducks...pfsssst the air went out

[RiverDog]

One thing is for sure: If the other league owners had their way, they'd bring in Jeff Bezos in a heartbeat. Jerry Jones said that he'd "carry him piggyback." Not only would they welcome his money, but Bezos represents a company that the league is anxious to partner with. Amazon is streaming Thursday Night Football games this season.

A couple of other names that have surfaced includes Larry Ellison, co founder of Oracle, Joe Lacob, owner of the Golden State Warriors, and Marc Benioff, co-CEO of Salesforce.

[RiverDog]

An interesting rule change regarding the ownership of other professional sports franchises:

On Wednesday, the league voted to abolish the rule that precluded an NFL owner from owning a sports team from a different sport in a competing market. For example, Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke was forced to sell the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche when he bought the Rams because the Denver Broncos were seen as a competitor for the sports consumer base in that market.

This widens the pool of prospective owners, and with more hands at the auction, a bidding war is more likely to break out. And the winners? The existing NFL owners as the value of their franchises will skyrocket.

[HumanCockroach]

You are too late for LA. Only two teams can play in our new stadium. LOL maybe the old stadium in SD can house you or Tijuana

Good luck in the bye week as next week your balloon gets busted as Sea never beats teams run by Matts

Also to the guy puffed up last week about the Ducks...pfsssst the air went out

Been to LA, with no teams there, NFL chose instead to force the team back to a better fan base.

And yeah, Oregon certainly got squashed, by yet another Washington team.... imagine that.

[Uppercut]

Would a setup like in Green Bay work here? The fan support is strong. All buy shares.

However, I would be shocked if PA did not have some plan for the future in case of his death

[RiverDog]

Would a setup like in Green Bay work here? The fan support is strong. All buy shares.

However, I would be shocked if PA did not have some plan for the future in case of his death

I would love a setup like what Green Bay has, but unfortunetly, it's against the NFL charter. No more than 24 people can own the team with one having at least a 30% stake in the arrangement. Green Bay was grandfathered in and is exempt from this rule. They are the only team in the league, and to my knowledge, major league sports, that has such an arrangement.

The league mandates that each owner provide a succsssion plan in the event of their death or inability to manage the team. It's a foregone conclusion that PA's younger sister Jody will be/or is our new owner, at least temporarily.

[NorthHawk]

I don't know if our readers caught the interview last night with John Clayton talking about the Seahawks.
At one point they discussed Paul Allen's passing and what's going to happen. Apparently Paul Allen's sister
will take her time to decide what she wants to do and the team is set up such that she will have enough
money to do as she wishes whether it's keeping the team or sell it. He also said that if she sells it will be
to people with Seattle roots who believe in the community rather than just to the highest bidder.

[RiverDog]

I don't know if our readers caught the interview last night with John Clayton talking about the Seahawks.
At one point they discussed Paul Allen's passing and what's going to happen. Apparently Paul Allen's sister
will take her time to decide what she wants to do and the team is set up such that she will have enough
money to do as she wishes whether it's keeping the team or sell it. He also said that if she sells it will be
to people with Seattle roots who believe in the community rather than just to the highest bidder.

I didn't see the interview, but I had read rumors that said essentially the same thing, ie that no decision regarding a potential sale of the franchise will be announced until after the season.

It will be interesting to see what Allen has left in his succession plan. The last active owner to pass away was the Bill's Ralph Wilson, who had stipulated in his plan that the franchise remain in Buffalo for an extended period of time.

[idhawkman]

The league mandates that each owner provide a succsssion plan in the event of their death or inability to manage the team. It's a foregone conclusion that PA's younger sister Jody will be/or is our new owner, at least temporarily.

The key word being, "TEMPORARILY" in my opinion. I don't think she has any interest in keeping the team which is why we are all talking about who could buy the team.

I really don't like the idea of Bezos owning the Seahawks though. Maybe he's too focused on space, amazon, the Washington Post, etc. and won't want to buy us. Fingers are crossed.

[idhawkman]

The last active owner to pass away was the Bill's Ralph Wilson, who had stipulated in his plan that the franchise remain in Buffalo for an extended period of time.

Hey Riv, since the Hawks weren't playing this weekend, I decided to paint my house. One of the times I came in to get some water the NFL was honoring Spanos for his passing and saying he owned the Chargers. Do you know if he was a current or past owner? I didn't catch the whole thing.

[NorthHawk]

According to PFT:

Alex’s son Dean Spanos has run the team for years and remains the team’s chairman and controlling owner. Alex’s grandsons A.G. Spanos and John Spanos run the team on a day-to-day basis, with A.G. overseeing business and John overseeing football operations.

[politicalfootball]

My brother speaks highly of Steve Ballmer. He used to know him fairly well when he was at Microsoft.

So I guess, going off my brother's view of Ballmer, I would like to see him own the Hawks. Especially since he already owns a pro team and won't be a newbie at it.

I am 99% behind Steve Ballmer as owner. I hope he gets the job .

Jody Allen the current executor of Paul G Allen 's will was my favorite for owner but now may not even apply is my second choice.

[RiverDog]

Perhaps the best news since the start of the offseason. It looks like Jody Allen is keeping the team...

https://www.king5.com/article/news/loca ... RvoRfmzALY

[Hawk Sista]

Best news I’ve heard in awhile. Thanks, RD!

[Stream Hawk]

I completely agree! It’s so cool that she is keeping it in the family; Paul would be proud.

[idhawkman]

I love how they say she's aligned and that she knows how to get things in motion. If true that would be great!

[RiverDog]

Unless there's a rubber stamp required by the league, it's official, the team is not up for sale. The 'new' owner is the Paul G. Allen trust fund, or for all intents and purposes, Jody Allen.

https://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/n ... UK2R1GdSds

Although people can always be counted on to say the politically correct thing in these types of situations, it was nevertheless refreshing to read some of the comments made by Pete and John.

It sounds like the Trail Blazers' ownership will remain in the hands of PA's trust as well. Good news all around.

[burrrton]

Good news all around.

Hear hear!

[NorthHawk]

I'm glad that seems to be settled.

[idhawkman]

I sure hope it continues to run the way it has lately and that Jody doesn't start to take a bigger interest or hire someone who will upset the apple cart. I know the Redskins were ecstatic that John Snyder was getting the team ... until he actually had the team and started screwing it up.

[NorthHawk]

I sure hope it continues to run the way it has lately and that Jody doesn't start to take a bigger interest or hire someone who will upset the apple cart. I know the Redskins were ecstatic that John Snyder was getting the team ... until he actually had the team and started screwing it up.

I thought she has been working within Vulcan for a while and if I'm right, she should know how well it was working before Paul Allen's death.
We haven't heard much from her, so maybe she will be like her brother and be an owner who hires who they think is the best for the team
and then let them do what they were hired to do.

[RiverDog]

I sure hope it continues to run the way it has lately and that Jody doesn't start to take a bigger interest or hire someone who will upset the apple cart. I know the Redskins were ecstatic that John Snyder was getting the team ... until he actually had the team and started screwing it up.

Any ownership change has a degree of uncertainty. Hopefully the fact that Paul and Jody were brother and sister means that they have common traits that manifest themselves into similar management styles. I feel more comfortable with her being the owner rather than some random person.

[NorthHawk]

I think she was a Seahawks fan before Paul Allen bought the team.

[RiverDog]

I think she was a Seahawks fan before Paul Allen bought the team.

Jerry Jones was a Cowboys fan before he bought his team. Just say'in.

[NorthHawk]

But Jerry Jones is a walking Ego.
We don't hear much from Ms Allen.

[RiverDog]

But Jerry Jones is a walking Ego.
We don't hear much from Ms Allen.

Which is one of the reasons why I already like her. My point was whether she's been a life long Seahawk fan or not isn't a huge consideration. I'd much rather they have an approach similar to Paul Allen's, and all indications are that Jody is of the same mindset.

[trents]

"Any ownership change has a degree of uncertainty. Hopefully the fact that Paul and Jody were brother and sister means that they have common traits that manifest themselves into similar management styles. I feel more comfortable with her being the owner rather than some random person."

In my experience, sibling are as likely to have different personalities and styles as they are to have similar ones. I wouldn't count on that.

[RiverDog]

"Any ownership change has a degree of uncertainty. Hopefully the fact that Paul and Jody were brother and sister means that they have common traits that manifest themselves into similar management styles. I feel more comfortable with her being the owner rather than some random person."

In my experience, sibling are as likely to have different personalities and styles as they are to have similar ones. I wouldn't count on that.

My experience is a little different. From what I've observed, although there are situations where sibs will have dramatically different personality characteristics/points of view, as a rule, they're much more likely to share the same traits than they are to be opposites.

Therefore, although I am not "counting on that", I do feel that it's more likely than not that we'll have in Jody a very similar management style that we had with Paul. At the very least, it's better odds than spinning the wheel.

[idhawkman]

My experience is a little different. From what I've observed, although there are situations where sibs will have dramatically different personality characteristics/points of view, as a rule, they're much more likely to share the same traits than they are to be opposites.

Therefore, although I am not "counting on that", I do feel that it's more likely than not that we'll have in Jody a very similar management style that we had with Paul. At the very least, it's better odds than spinning the wheel.

I love my brother beyond anything but when it comes to business styles, we are night and day.

[NorthHawk]

Because we haven't seen much of her, I suspect she's more like her brother than not.
At least I hope so.