Jeff Bezos Reportedly Considering Buying $8B NFL Team Ahead of the Super Bowl—It’s ‘Eventual’
Jeff Bezos has a considerable fortune. And though you might know him primarily because of Amazon, Bezos’ investments go way beyond that. There’s Blue Origin. There’s The Washington Post. And through his venture capital firm, Bezos Expeditions, the billionaire also has stakes in companies like Uber, Airbnb, and various AI startups. So, what else might Bezos be interested in buying?
Reportedly, an NFL team. The Seattle Seahawks, which are set to play the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, to be precise. There has been a conversation about the team’s potential sale ever since Paul G. Allen, the franchise’s former owner, passed away in 2018. In fact, the expectation has always been that the franchise would go up for sale at some point; the question has always been when.
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After Allen’s death, ownership of the franchise went to Allen’s state, with his sister Jody overseeing both the Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers, which Allen also owned. According to Allen’s express directive, both franchises are to be sold, with proceeds eventually donated to charity.
Now, it seems like that time might have come. ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Brady Henderson reported that the team is expected to go up for sale shortly after the Super Bowl. But that’s not all, NFL insider Jonathan Jones shared on X that, “The eventual sale of the Seahawks and Jeff Bezos have been a potential connection for some time.”
Interesting.
Bezos has reportedly had an interest in football for a while, calling it his favorite sport. And he did explore the idea of buying an NFL franchise when the Washington Commanders went up for sale. At the time, then-owner, Dan Snyder, was looking for around $7 billion, which Bezos considered excessive. The team was later sold in 2023 for a record $6.05 billion. Now, the team on the table is a different one, and perhaps the most important one.
And the number is pretty much in the same ballpark.
The Seahawks are reportedly valued at around $6.6 billion. Bezos is reportedly worth around $215 billion. But that’s not all, Seattle is a city Bezos is very familiar with, and the one where he built Amazon into the company it is today. So, perhaps, the Seattle Seahawks might be way more appealing to someone who is already so intertwined with the city than the Washington Commanders.
A big hurdle remains. Amazon has an exclusive broadcast deal for Thursday Night Football, which brings up conflict-of-interest questions if Bezos, who still owns a considerable amount of Amazon stock—somewhere around 9% of the company—were to buy an NFL team. Could he then dictate scheduling? It’s a touchy subject, and one the league might want to avoid altogether.
Of course, this is all in the realm of speculation for now. The team is focused on the Super Bowl, where they are favored to beat the New England Patriots. And if they do win, they’ll be focused on celebrating. But when the spotlight from the big game dims, the question will remain. What is the future of the Seahawks, and is Jeff Bezos going to be involved?
