Seahawks to be sold, proceeds to charity

[RiverDog]

No big surprise, but it was revealed that Paul Allen, as part of his succession plan filed with the NFL, left instructions that if the team is to be sold that the proceeds to go to his charitable foundation:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... foundation

Two things that we can safely assume: That the Seahawks will remain in Seattle and that the sale will be the most expensive in the history of professional sporting franchises. Additionally, it's important to note that the Seahawks lease on Century Link Field runs through 2031.

But beyond that, we won't know alot until the team is sold and the new owner starts putting his signature on the franchise. Both Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson's contracts run through the 2019 season. A decision on Russell's likely will be one of the first issues put before the new owner as it would make sense to extend Russell before his contract expires next season.

Comments?

[NorthHawk]

It shows how much his charitable organizations meant to him.
I'm sure his family will be well taken care of, but that's going to be a lot of money
for his foundation going forward.
We, and the world lost a good man with his passing.

[RiverDog]

It shows how much his charitable organizations meant to him.
I'm sure his family will be well taken care of, but that's going to be a lot of money
for his foundation going forward.
We, and the world lost a good man with his passing.

Not much to argue with there. Paul Allen was a great man, and as Seahawk fans, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.

Although your comments are appropriate and spot on, I didn't start the thread merely to honor PA. What I'm more interested in is how the upcoming transfer of ownership will affect the course of this franchise. Are we apt to end up with an active, Jerry Jones-type owner that will treat his team as his own personal toy? Or will we end up with passive owner like we just had, one that will let his subordinates run the team?

There have been some interesting possibilities mentioned. Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world and CEO of a company that the league is interested in partnering with. Jones said that he'd carry Bezos "piggyback". Does anyone know what his management style might be like?

Another possibility is Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft CEO that was part of an effort to bring the Sonics back to Seattle and currently owns the NBA's LA Clippers. Both have local ties.

Other names that have been floated include Larry Ellison of Oracle and Joe Lacob, owner of the Golden State Warriors.

Anyone have any insights on any of those names? Anyone you would or wouldn't want to own our team? Or are there other names not mentioned that might wind up being our owners?

[NorthHawk]

I don't know anything about Joe Lacob, but my impression of Ellison is he might be one of those hands on owners of the Jones variety.
But I don't do impressions, so take it with a grain of salt.
I'm wondering if some type of consortium or ownership group might be formed with one major shareholder. It might be the best thing for those who fear
a single owner trying to move the team no matter how unlikely it looks today.
I would like to see Ballmer be the owner as he knows Seattle, but I wonder if any owner would want 2 major sports franchises in different cities. It would
be a lot of travel if the two teams are doing well and after a short while they might want to dump one of the teams to limit travel.

[idhawkman]

Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world and CEO of a company that the league is interested in partnering with. Jones said that he'd carry Bezos "piggyback". Does anyone know what his management style might be like?

Anyone have any insights on any of those names? Anyone you would or wouldn't want to own our team? Or are there other names not mentioned that might wind up being our owners?

I hope it isn't Bezos as he doesn't pay most of his employees enough to get out of poverty. When he's caught, he raises their pay in a big public way using his news outlet at the Washington Post but quietly pulls back the fringe benefits to offset the higher pay. I think he's a sneak and will cheapen the league and team in any way he can.

Balmer on the other hand, I've heard great things from him. My brother worked with Steve many times when both were at Microsoft. Both of their attitudes toward being "good corporate partners" was at first confusing to me but later made a lot of sense. I think if we had to pick between the two, I'd go with Balmer because I think he'll do the right thing whether someone is watching or not.

[politicalfootball]

We can do better than Bezos no doubt but for what ever the reason the best man will be the new owner we have enough for thoughts candidates to come forward .

Excellent thread RD

[politicalfootball]

My hats in the ring for either Ellison or Jones who would make a good owner he seems like he's the favorite as of now He has a good relationship going already with the Seahawks franchise, don't you think so ? I vote for Jones wanna bet he wins he's got my loyalty and full support he can do things I can only dream of so thanks river for this most excellent thread .

[RiverDog]

Thanks, PF.

But we're probably going to have to put the thread on hold for a couple of months as it would appear that the Hawks won't be put on the market until after the season. The league likes to spread out news stories over the course of the offseason so as to stay in the headlines year round, so I wouldn't expect them to entertain offers until February at the earliest. But that's just a guess. The owners meet again on Dec. 12th so perhaps we'll hear something then.

[NorthHawk]

In these types of situations information about who is interested usually starts to leak out long before any formal statements are made by either the league or the organization that’s selling.

It wouldn’t surprise me if we know at least some of the interested parties before the new year.

[RiverDog]

In these types of situations information about who is interested usually starts to leak out long before any formal statements are made by either the league or the organization that’s selling.

It wouldn’t surprise me if we know at least some of the interested parties before the new year.

What I read indicated that there already were several interested parties that were preparing an offer, but they didn't say who. And yes, you're right, that information will leak out eventually.

I wish we could have a clone of Paul Allen as our new owner. I miss him already.

[politicalfootball]

Paul Allen was the perfect owner and I am praying we get another great owner we will see just who they are.

[politicalfootball]

Paul Allen had a wonderful charity set up his family is in charge of now.